EU support to refugees in Türkiye

Türkiye hosts one of the biggest refugee populations in the world, including more than 2.3 million Syrian refugees and more than 300 000 refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities. The EU is committed to assisting Türkiye in dealing with this challenge. Since 2011, it has directed close to €12.4 billion to assist refugees and host communities in Türkiye.

The Facility for Refugees in Turkey

One of the main mechanisms for managing this funding was the Facility for Refugees in Turkey. Established in March 2016 as a central element of the EU-Turkey Statement, it mobilised €6 billion between 2016 and 2019, financed equally by the EU budget and Member States. This overall funding was mobilised in two tranches of €3 billion each for 2016-2017 and 2018-2019. The first tranche funded projects running until mid-2021, while the second tranche funded projects running until mid-2025.

The Facility supported 115 key projects in areas most critical to refugees and the communities hosting them. However, even though it has now fulfilled its mandate as a dedicated coordination mechanism instrument, eleven interventions under the Facility remain ongoing, since some project extensions were necessary due to implementation delays caused by Covid-19, the February 2023 earthquakes and persistent inflationary pressures. Five projects are expected to conclude by the end of 2026, while the remaining interventions will be finalised by 2028-2029.

Thanks to the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, millions of people received assistance to meet their basic needs, gained access to health services and education, and benefited from improved public infrastructure. At the same time, Facility programmes and projects fostered livelihoods and social inclusion, helping refugees move towards greater stability and self-reliance within Turkish society.

The entire Facility budget has been allocated and contracted, and to date more than €5.9 billion has been disbursed. The remaining amount should follow the completion of audits and the conclusion of the pending projects mentioned above.

The publication of the ninth annual report on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey provides comprehensive evidence of the results achieved and demonstrates the continued relevance of EU support in supporting refugees and host communities in Türkiye.

For more information on Facility projects, please refer to our interactive map.

Post-Facility EU support for refugees in Türkiye

Beyond the Facility framework, EU engagement has continued over these years. For the period 2020-2027, a further €6 billion was mobilised to sustain assistance for refugees in Türkiye. These new programmes are financed through the EU budget under the current multi-annual financial framework and are implemented through established EU external financing instruments.

They remain actively under implementation, ensuring continued access to essential services, protection, education, health care and socio-economic opportunities for refugees and host communities, while building on the experience and lessons learned under the Facility.

The entire operating budget has already been allocated, with €4.6 billion contracted and €3.2 billion disbursed.

For more information

Use the mouse wheel or the +/- signs to discover the projects in the region. *Please note that the locations marked on the map are approximate and not the exact coordinates of the projects. *Some projects might have several locations. For ease of reference, nationwide projects are all located in Ankara.