COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Eighth Annual Report of the Facility for Refugees in Türkiye
Date: 2024-12-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU financial instrument, EU migration policy, Türkiye, activity report, aid to refugees, coordination of aid, migrant, migration control, refugee

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.12.2024  COM(2024) 593 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Eighth Annual Report of the Facility for Refugees in Türkiye  
 
 
Contents 

1. 

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2 

1.1. Türkiye and the refugee crisis ..................................................................................................... 2 

1.2. The EU response to the crisis and the establishment of the Facility ...................................... 4 

2.  The functioning of the Facility.................................................................................................... 4 

3.  Financial capacity, duration and nature of funding ............................................................ 5 

4. 

Implementation of the Facility ............................................................................................ 7 

5.  Monitoring, evaluation and audit  ..................................................................................... 14 

6.  Communication and visibility ........................................................................................... 14 

7.  Conclusion and next steps ................................................................................................. 15 

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1.  Introduction 

Under Article 8 (1) of the Commission Decision of 24 November 20151 on coordinating EU 
and  Member  State  actions  through  a  coordination  mechanism  (‘the  Decision’),  the 
Commission  must  keep  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  regularly  informed  about 
the implementation of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (‘the Facility’). Under Article 8 (2) 
of the Decision, the Commission must report annually to the European Parliament and to the 
Council  on  the  Facility’s  implementation.  The  first  Annual  Report  on  the  Facility  was 
published  in  March  20172.  All  annual  reports  can  be  found  on  the  Facility  for  Refugees 
website. The cut-off date for this report is February 2024. 

1.1.  Türkiye and the refugee crisis 

Due  to  its  geographic  position,  Türkiye  is  a  prominent  reception  and  transit  country  for 
refugees  and  migrants.  In  January  2024,  according  to  data  provided  by  the  Turkish 
government, the country hosted 3 199 927 Syrians under temporary protection and more than 
300 000  registered  refugees  and  asylum  seekers,  mainly  from  Afghanistan,  Iraq,  Iran  and 
Somalia3,4.  This  very  large  number  of  people  has  had  a  significant  impact  on  the  host 
communities.  The  protracted  displacement  of  Syrian  refugees  and  the  increasing  number  of 
irregular  arrivals  from  Afghanistan  in  Türkiye  represents  an  increasing  challenge  to  social 
cohesion between refugees, migrants and host communities. At the same time, there continues 
to be pressure along the Turkish-Iranian border. 

Türkiye  continues  to  make  very  significant  efforts  in  hosting  and  addressing  the  needs  of 
refugees  and  migrants  and  has  reiterated  its  commitment  to  implement  the  EU-Turkey 
Statement of 18 March 20165 (‘the Statement’). The Statement continued to deliver concrete 
results  in  2023.  However,  although  still  lower  than  the  pre-Statement  figures,  irregular 
arrivals to Greece increased, especially through the sea route, while arrivals in Italy and in the 
government-controlled territory of Cyprus decreased considerably6.  

1 Commission Decision C(2015) 9500 of 24.11.2015 on the coordination of the actions of the Union and of the 
Member  States  through  a  coordination  mechanism  –  the  Refugee  Facility  for  Turkey,  as  amended  by 
Commission Decision C(2016)855 of 10.2.2016. 
2 9dc8736f-c734-48be-8678-aca919a6a1bf_en (europa.eu) 
3 https://en.goc.gov.tr/irregular-migration 
4 A specific characteristic of the Turkish asylum system is linked to the fact that the country has signed the 1967 
New  York  Protocol  of  the  1951  Geneva  Convention  with  a  reservation.  Accordingly,  the  vast  majority  of 
refugees  in  Türkiye  cannot  apply  for  fully-fledged  refugee  status  but  for  ‘Conditional  Refugee’  status  only, 
which,  if  granted,  limits  the  stay  in  the  country  until  the  moment  a  recognised  refugee  is  ‘resettled  to  a  third 
country’. 
5 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/  
6  Between  January  and  October  2023,  39 619  irregular  migrants  arrived  in  the  EU  from  Türkiye  compared  to 
34 459  arrivals  during  the  same  period  in  2022  –  a  15%  increase.  The  sea  route  to  Italy  saw  a  substantial 
decrease  (by  63%).  However,  in  2023  in  total,  irregular  arrivals  by  sea  to  Greece  saw  a  more  than  threefold 
(210%)  increase  compared  to  2022.  Arrivals  to  Greece  by  land  also  increased  by  7%.  At  the  same  time,  the 

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The  ‘One-for-One’  resettlement  scheme  continued  to  be  implemented  under  the  Statement. 
Between  April  2016  and  January  2024,  almost  41 000  Syrian  refugees  were  resettled  from 
Türkiye to the EU. Since 2016, under the Statement, 2 140 migrants have been returned from 
the  Greek  islands  to  Türkiye.  As  the  Turkish  authorities  have  not  revoked  their  decision  of 
March  2020  to  suspend  return  operations  under  the  Statement  due  to  the  COVID-19 
pandemic, no return operations have taken place since then despite repeated requests from the 
European Commission and the Greek authorities. 

The  October  2020  European  Council  agreed  to  launch  a  positive  EU-Türkiye  agenda.  Four 
priority  areas  were  identified:  i) improving  the  functioning  of  the  Customs  Union  and 
relaunching  discussions  on  modernising  it;  ii)  migration  and  support  to  refugees;  iii) high-
level  dialogues;  iv) people-to-people  contacts  and  mobility.  The  European  Council  of  June 
2021  reiterated  the  EU’s  readiness  to  engage  with  Türkiye  in  a  phased,  proportionate  and 
reversible manner to enhance cooperation in a number of areas of common interest, subject to 
the  established  conditionalities  set  out  in  March  2021  and  in  previous  European  Council 
conclusions. The Joint Communication of 29 November 2023 responded to the invitation by 
the European Council of 29-30 June 2023 to the High Representative and the Commission to 
submit a report on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations. It put forward several proposals 
to  re-invigorate  bilateral  relations,  including  in  the  area  of  migration  management  and 
financial  support  to  refugees  and  host  communities.  An  EU-Türkiye  high-level  dialogue  on 
migration  and  security  took  place  in  Ankara  in  October  2021  and  another  took  place  in 
Brussels  in  November  2023.  The  European  Commission  presented  the  action  plan  for  the 
Eastern Mediterranean7 on 18 October 2023 following the European Council guidelines, with 
a focus on improving migration management in cooperation with key countries of origin and 
transit, including Türkiye. 

Earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria – February 2023  

On  6  February,  Türkiye  was  struck  by  the  strongest  earthquakes  in  the  region  in  more  than 
100 years, with a very high number of deaths, injuries and material damage. The EU quickly 
provided support following the earthquakes and organised a donors’ conference on 20 March 
in  Brussels  to  mobilise  funds  from  the  international  community  in  support  of  the  people  in 
Türkiye and Syria, through a total of EUR 7 billion in pledges, including for the 1.7 million 
refugees  in  the  affected  areas.  Under  the  EU's  earthquake  pledge,  the  Commission  adopted 
two financing decisions on 20 December 2023, mobilising a total of EUR 355.6 million from 
the allocation of EUR 3 billion in additional refugee assistance agreed for 2021-2023 (see box 
below). 

The  first  measure,  worth  EUR 115.6  million,  aims  to  strengthen  health  and  education 
infrastructure in order to improve accessibility for refugees and host communities affected by 
the  earthquakes.  This  will  be  done  by  means  of  constructing  a  minimum  of  20  education 
facilities and 20 primary health centres. The second measure, worth EUR 240 million, aims to 

number  of  arrivals  in  Cyprus  via  the  Green  Line  went  down  by  42%  between  January  and  September  2023, 
compared with the same period in 2022. 
7 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_6014  

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boost socio-economic support, promote social cohesion and foster infrastructure development 
in Türkiye. 

1.2.  The EU response to the crisis and the establishment of the Facility 

In  answer  to  the  call  from  EU  Member  States  for  significant  additional  funding  to  support 
refugees  in  Türkiye,  the  Commission  established  the  Facility  for  Refugees  in  Turkey  by 
means  of  the  Commission  Decision  of  24 November 2015,  amended  on  10 February 20168 
and  on  14 March  and  24 July 2018.  The  Facility  is  a  mechanism  to  coordinate  the 
mobilisation  of  resources  made  available  under  both  the  EU  budget  and  additional 
contributions from Member States integrated into the EU budget as external assigned revenue. 
Member States committed politically to provide national contributions as part of the Common 
Understanding  between  EU  Member  States  and  the  European  Commission,  adopted  on 
3 February 2016,  and  updated  when  the  second  tranche  of  the  Facility  was  agreed9.  The 
Common Understanding also established a conditionality framework.  

On 18 March 2016, the Heads of State and Government of the EU and Türkiye reconfirmed 
their commitment to implement their Joint action plan and agreed further measures aimed at 
deepening  EU-Türkiye  relations  and  addressing  the  migration  crisis10.  Türkiye  and  the  EU 
recognised that further, swift and determined efforts were needed. More specifically, the EU-
Turkey Statement called for putting an end to irregular migration from Türkiye to the EU by 
breaking the business model of the smugglers and offering migrants an alternative to putting 
their lives at risk, and accelerating the Facility’s implementation. 

For the first tranche of the Facility (2016-2017) a total of EUR 3 billion was allocated11, and 
an  additional  EUR 3  billion  was  made  available  for  the  second  tranche  (2018-2019),  taking 
the Facility total to EUR 6 billion. Following this meeting, the Commission moved quickly to 
contract  the  first  projects.  By  31 December 2020,  the  Commission  had  contracted  the  full 
operational allocation of the Facility, and by the end of 2023 over EUR 5.3 billion had been 
disbursed.  

2.     The functioning of the Facility  

The  Facility  is  a  coordination  mechanism  that  allows  for  the  swift,  effective  and  efficient 
mobilisation  of  EU  assistance  to  refugees  in  Türkiye,  while  ensuring  sound  financial 
management.  The  Facility  ensures  the  optimal  mobilisation  of  existing  EU  financing 

8 https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-action-plan-eastern-mediterranean-migration-2023-10-18_en  
9 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11329-2018-INIT/en/pdf 
10 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/  
11 This EUR 3 billion was made available in addition to EUR 345 million that the Commission already allocated 
to Türkiye in response to the Syrian refugee crisis before the start of the Facility and was additional to Member 
States' bilateral aid. 

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instruments, as humanitarian and/or development assistance, to address the needs of refugees 
and host communities in a comprehensive and coordinated manner12. 

The Steering Committee of the Facility provides strategic guidance on the priorities, the type 
of  actions  to  be  supported,  the  amounts  to  be  allocated  and  the  financing  instruments  to  be 
mobilised and - when appropriate - the conditions related to the implementation of Türkiye’s 
commitments under the EU-Turkey Joint action plan of 29 November 2015 (the ‘Joint action 
plan’)13.  In  2023,  the  Facility’s  eighth  year  of  implementation,  one  Steering  Committee 
meeting took place on 5 July. 

The  sustainability  of  Facility  projects  and  co-ownership  by  the  Turkish  authorities  are 
important.  Priority  areas  for  assistance  are  identified  based  on  a  comprehensive  and 
independent needs assessment, which was updated in 2018. 

The  Facility  coordinates  financing  from  the  following  external  financing  instruments14: 
i) humanitarian  aid;  ii)  the  European  Neighbourhood  Instrument;  iii)  the  Development 
Cooperation  Instrument;  iv) the  Instrument  for  Pre-accession  Assistance  (IPA);  and  v)  the 
Instrument  contributing  to  Stability  and  Peace.  Measures  financed  by  the  EU's  budget  are 
carried  out  according  to  its  financial  rules  and  regulations  applicable  to  both  direct  and 
indirect management. Implementation of assistance is conditional upon Türkiye being in strict 
compliance with the undertakings of the Joint action plan and the Statement. 

3.     Financial capacity, duration and nature of funding 

The  total  budget  coordinated  by  the  Facility  is  EUR 6  billion,  mobilised  in  two  tranches. 
Projects under the ﬁrst and second tranche run until mid-2025 at the latest, with many projects 
under  the  first  tranche  already  completed  and  most  projects  scheduled  to  ﬁnish  earlier. 
Exceptionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation period for projects under 
the 2016 Special Measure (EUR 1.6 billion) was extended, allowing for all projects concerned 
to reach their stated objectives.   

The first tranche amounted to EUR 3 billion, of which EUR 1 billion was mobilised from the 
EU budget and EUR 2 billion was provided in bilateral contributions from the Member States. 
Likewise, the second tranche amounted to  EUR 3 billion, of which the EU budget  provided 
EUR 2 billion and the Member States EUR 1 billion15.  

Regarding  EU  budget  resources,  of  the  EUR 1  billion  from  the  EU  budget  for  2016-2017, 
EUR 250 million was mobilised in 2016 and EUR 750 million in 2017. Of the EUR 2 billion 

12 Commission Decision C(2015) 9500 of 24.11.2015, Article 2 – Objectives of the Facility. 
13 See Article 5 (1) of Commission Decision C(2015) 9500, as amended by Commission Decision C(2016)855. 
14 The European Neighbourhood Instrument and the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) contributions 
were respectively transferred to and implemented under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance and the EU 
Trust  Fund.  In  principle,  all  Facility  contributions  to  the  EU  Regional  Trust  Fund  in  Response  to  the  Syrian 
Crisis (from IPA and to a minor extent from DCI) were implemented as non-humanitarian assistance. 
15  https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/06/29/facility-for-refugees-in-turkey-member-
states-agree-details-of-additional-funding/  

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from the EU budget for 2018-2019, EUR 550 million was mobilised in 2018, with the balance 
mobilised in 2019. 

As for Member State contributions, for the first tranche, Member States contributed EUR 677 
million  to  the  Facility  in  2016,  EUR  847  million  in  2017,  EUR  396  million  in  2018  and 
EUR 80 million in 2019. For the second tranche, Member States contributed EUR 68 million 
in  2018,  EUR 202  million  in  2019,  EUR 265  million  in  2020,  EUR  166  million  in  2021, 
EUR 165  million  in  2022,  with  the  last  payments  amounting  to  EUR 134  million  in  2023. 
Member  State  contributions  were  made  directly  to  the  EU  Budget  in  the  form  of  external 
assigned revenue16 and assigned to the budget lines of the IPA and of the humanitarian aid. 

A satisfactory match between the rate of Member States’ payments of their contributions into 
the  Facility  and  the  rate  of  disbursements  financed  by  those  contributions  from  the  Facility 
continues. 

Under the humanitarian  strand of the Facility, EUR 19.5 million  was  earmarked as a buffer 
for possible funding of responses to the influx of new refugees from Syria in 2019. Since the 
buffer  was  not  used,  this  amount  was  contracted  in  2020  to  cover  health  and  protection 
actions, completing the programming exercise for the second tranche.  

By 31 December 2020, the Commission had contracted the full operational  allocation of the 
Facility. Out of a total of EUR 6 billion, just over EUR 5.3 billion had been disbursed by the 
end of 2023. 

Additional EU assistance to refugees in Türkiye outside the framework of the Facility  

In  2020,  the  Commission  allocated  an  additional  EUR 535  million  to  support  humanitarian 
actions in Türkiye outside the framework of the Facility. This refugee  assistance focused on 
basic needs, protection, education and healthcare and has been fully contracted and disbursed.  

This  trend  continued  in  2021.  Further  to  the  European  Council  conclusions  of  June  of  that 
year, the Commission mobilised EUR 3 billion for refugees and host communities in Türkiye 
for 2021-2023. This funding aims to ensure key Facility interventions continue in the priority 
areas  of  humanitarian  assistance,  basic  needs,  education  and  health,  as  well  as  migration 
management  and  border  control.  It  also  includes  EUR 150  million  under  DG  HOME 
instruments primarily in support of resettlement efforts of EU Member States from Türkiye, 
but also in support of migration management, border management and anti-smuggling efforts. 
It also includes EUR 14.4 million under a support measure that was adopted in October 2024. 

16  External  revenues  pursuant  to  Article  21(2)(b)  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  966/2012  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  of  25  October  2012  on  the  financial  rules  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the 
Union  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  (OJ  L  298,  26.10.2012,  p.1)  for 
contributions in 2016 and until 1 August 2018 and pursuant to Article 21(2)(a)(ii) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 
2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the 
general  budget  of  the  Union,  amending  Regulations  (EU)  No  1296/2013,  (EU)  No  1301/2013,  (EU)  No 
1303/2013,  (EU)  No  1304/2013,  (EU)  No  1309/2013,  (EU)  No  1316/2013,  (EU)  No  223/2014,  (EU)  No 
283/2014,  and  Decision  No  541/2014/EU  and  repealing  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  966/2012  (OJ  L  193, 
30.07.2018, p.1). 

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In  February  2024,  the  European  Council  decided  to  allocate  a  further  EUR 2  billion  to 
maintain effective migration cooperation, including the support for Syrian refugees in Türkiye 
until  2027.  In  addition,  in  2024,  the  Commission  allocated  EUR 520  million  to  ensure  the 
continuation of the assistance, plus EUR 480 million transferred from the refugee assistance 
allocation for 2025. 

Total  EU  assistance  allocated  to  refugees  in  Türkiye  since  2011  amounts  to  EUR 12.5 
billion.  This  includes  EUR  345  million  in  refugee  assistance  mobilised  between  2011  and 
2016,  the  EUR 6  billion  under  the  Facility,  EUR 535  million  in  bridge  funding  in  2020, 
EUR 3 billion in additional funding in 2021-2023, EUR 520 million in 2024 and an additional 
EUR 2 billion until 2027. 

4.     Implementation of the Facility 

The Facility is implemented in the form of humanitarian and development assistance. Under 
the first tranche roughly EUR 1.4 billion and EUR 1.6 billion were allocated to the respective 
strands. Given the protracted nature of the Syria crisis, interventions under the second tranche 
increasingly  focused  on  socio-economic  support  activities  and  creating 
livelihood 
opportunities.  Under  the  second  tranche,  EUR 1.04  billion  was  allocated  to  humanitarian 
assistance, and EUR 1.9 billion to development assistance17. 

For  the  Facility  overall,  the  breakdown  of  humanitarian  and  development  assistance  is  as 
follows:  

For full details, see the online projects table18. 

Assistance  provided  under  the  Facility  is  project-based.  Disbursements  depend  on  the 
progress made in carrying out Facility interventions.  

17 The balance of EUR 60 million is allocated to the administrative and operational support provided for rolling 
out the Facility. 
18 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/turkiye/eu-support-refugees-turkiye_en  

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Particular attention is paid to non-Syrian refugees and asylum seekers. Facility interventions 
always aim to involve the local communities hosting refugees.  

Humanitarian  assistance  under  the  Facility  aims  to  help  the  most  vulnerable  refugees 
through providing dignified support addressing basic needs and protection. It also  addresses 
gaps  through  specialised  agencies  and  partners  in  the  sectors  of  health  and  education  in 
emergencies. The provision of EU humanitarian aid is guided by the European Consensus on 
Humanitarian Aid of 200719, which stipulates that the EU as a humanitarian actor adheres to 
the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, as set out 
in Article 214 of the TFEU and in the Humanitarian Aid Regulation (No. 1257/96)20,21.  

Under the humanitarian strand of the Facility, a total of 65 projects have been implemented 
through  21  partners  under  both  the  first  and  the  second  tranche.  These  projects  cover  the 
response to basic needs, protection, education and health for the most vulnerable refugees in 
Türkiye.  Under  the  first  tranche,  around  EUR 1.4  billion  in  humanitarian  assistance  was 
allocated  and  contracted  and  EUR 1.3  billion  was  disbursed,  while  for  the  second  tranche, 
EUR 1.04 billion was contracted and by 31 January 2023, EUR 1.035 million was disbursed. 

Development assistance supports the longer-term needs in the areas of health, education and 
socio-economic  development  of  refugees,  particularly  in  terms  of  access  to  public  services 
and  livelihood  opportunities,  and  municipal  infrastructure.  It  also  focuses  on  vulnerable 
groups  and  includes  a  gender  aspect  in  its  interventions,  e.g.  protecting  women  and  girls 
against  sexual  and  gender-based  violence  and  improving  access  to  sexual  and  reproductive 
healthcare.  

Under  the  development  strand  of  the  Facility,  there  continued  to  be  good  progress  made  in 
implementing  26  projects  contracted  under  the  first  tranche.  Of  these  projects,  15  were 
implemented under the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis for a total of 
EUR 293 million, in addition to the allocation managed directly through the IPA22. 

Disbursements  to  implementing  partners  reached  nearly  EUR 2.9  billion  out  of  a  total  of 
EUR 3.5 billion allocated to development assistance under both tranches of the Facility23. The 
development strand of the Facility includes 17 contracts. 

In  2023,  the  Facility’s  implementation  continued  to  be  affected  by  very  high  inflation  in 
Türkiye and exchange rate-related challenges. This required a reduction in the scope of some 
projects, in turn resulting in a decrease in the number of facilities constructed.  

19 Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States.  
20 Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid. 
21  The  European  Commission's  humanitarian  aid  is  based  on  annual  country-specific  humanitarian 
implementation  plans. The framework for cooperation between the Commission and its partners in the area of 
humanitarian aid is established by the Commission's Financial and Administrative Framework Agreements with 
international organisations and Framework Partnership Agreements with non-governmental organisations. 
22 Funds from the IPA under the Facility are managed according to the rules for external action contained in Title 
IV of part two of the Financial Regulation and its Rules of Application. 
23  This  figure  also  includes  disbursements  under  projects  implemented  by  the  EU  Regional  Trust  Fund  in 
Response to the Syrian Crisis, but not yet charged to the EU budget. 

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Facility interventions per priority area 

Progress  made  per  priority  area  in  providing  assistance  financed  under  both  tranches  of  the 
Facility is reported on in the twice-yearly Facility monitoring reports24.  

There were significant achievements in providing assistance to refugees and host communities 
in the following priority areas. 

Education 

A  total  of  EUR 2  billion  has  been  allocated  to  education  support  under  the  Facility  and 
additional refugee support.  

Under  the  humanitarian  strand  of  the  Facility,  more  than  EUR 181  million  was  allocated  to 
education.  The  Conditional  Cash  Transfer  in  Education  (CCTE)  supports  school  enrolment 
and  attendance  of  refugee  children  by  means  of  providing  monthly  payments  to  refugee 
families  on  condition  that  pupils  attend  school  regularly.  The  CCTE  programme’s  cash 
component  was  funded  under  the  humanitarian  strand  until  October  2022  while  capacity 
support activities for a smooth transition continued until December 2022. The programme was 
transferred  to  the  development  strand  in  October  2022.  In  2023,  the  CCTE  VI  programme 
continued  to  provide  regular  cash  transfers  to  the  families  of  around  500 000  children 
enabling them to attend school.  

The implementation  of the Facility flagship direct  grant  (Promoting  Inclusive Education for 
Kids in the Turkish Education System - PIKTES II25) by the Ministry of National Education 
(MoNE)  of  EUR 400  million  ended  in  January  2023.  It  has  been  followed  up  by  the  new 
project PIKTES+26 with a total budget of EUR 300 million funded under additional assistance 
for refugees in Türkiye.  

In  education, the overall aim continued to  be the integration of all refugee children into the 
Turkish  formal  system,  complemented  by  reaching  out-of-school  children  and  creating  safe 
pathways to learning, as well as improving learning outcomes. As of September 2023, for the 
academic year 2023-2024, almost  750 000  refugee  children had been enrolled in  the  formal 
education  system  (including  preschool)  in  the  29  most  densely  refugee-populated  provinces 
targeted by the PIKTES+ programme.  

The  number  of  refugee  and  host  community  students  receiving  Facility-supported 
scholarships  to  attend  technical  and  vocational  education  and  training  (TVET)  or  higher 
education  institutions  has  reached  29 049.  Most  of  these  students  were  refugees.  Gender 
balance was maintained.  

The  Facility  has  continued  to  support  educational  infrastructure  development  and  reduced 
school overcrowding. There has been significant progress made in the number of educational 
facilities upgraded and completed. A major achievement in upgrading was the installation of 

24 https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/negotiations-status/turkey/eu-facility-
refugees-turkey_en 
25 Promoting Integration of Syrian Kids into the Education System II (PIKTES II). 
26 Promoting Inclusive Education for Kids in the Turkish Education System” (PIKTES+). 

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8 700  smartboards  in  primary  and  secondary  schools.  To  date,  over  12 000  facilities  have 
been upgraded with Facility support.  

In  addition,  under the Education  for All  in  Times of Crisis  and Education Infrastructure for 
Resilience projects, 175 schools were built and education services started. Moreover, rooftop 
solar  panels  installed  in  schools  generate  power  for  50  schools  and  energy  efficiency 
improvement measures were completed for 41 schools.    

In  2023,  the  EU  allocated  EUR 65.6  million  to  help  reconstruct  education  infrastructure  in 
Türkiye, particularly in the aftermath of the earthquakes of February 2023. This funding aims 
to increase access to education for both refugees and host communities, specifically by means 
of constructing  a minimum of 20 additional education facilities.  Two grant projects worth a 
total of EUR 20 million provide scholarships and associated services to refugee students and 
students from host communities pursuing undergraduate/graduate studies. The projects started 
in January 2023 and should last 3 years. 

Protection 

A  total  of  EUR 326  million  has  been  allocated  to  protection  support  under  the  Facility  and 
additional refugee support, mainly through projects under the humanitarian strand.   

The  humanitarian  strand  of  the  Facility  has  supported  the  registration  and  verification  of 
refugees, allowing them to regularise their status in Türkiye and helping them access services. 
In  particular,  it  has  supported  the  registration  efforts  of  Türkiye’s  Presidency  of  Migration 
Management  and  strengthened  its  institutional  and  technical  capacity.  In  addition  to  stand-
alone protection interventions aimed to fill gaps and respond to specific needs and individuals 
at  risk,  protection  has  also  been  mainstreamed  into  the  other  pillars  of  the  humanitarian 
response  strategy  (basic  needs,  health  and  education).  The  overall  aim  is  to  better  address 
refugees’ vulnerabilities, regularise their status and link them to a wider network of public and 
UN/NGO  services.  During  the  reporting  period,  assistance  remained  focused  on  the  most 
vulnerable  groups  (e.g.  seasonal  agricultural  migrant  workers,  key  refugee  groups,  etc.).  In 
addition,  projects  financed  through  the  EU  Trust  Fund  in  response  to  the  Syrian  Crisis 
included assistance to community centres receiving refugees and further referring vulnerable 
refugees to adequate services. 

Under  the  development  strand  of  the  Facility,  a  direct  grant  to  the  Ministry  of  Family  and 
Labour  and  Social  Services  of  EUR 20  million  was  contracted  at  the  end  of  2020  and  the 
action  continued.  The  project  aims  to  improve  the  provision  of  preventive  and  protective 
social services to the most vulnerable refugees and host communities.  The earthquakes have 
had a serious negative impact and services have been moved to temporary units. The Ministry 
of Family and Social Services focused on the earthquake-affected regions and had to postpone 
the capacity-building activities of the action.  

Health 

A  total  of  EUR 1  billion  has  been  allocated  to  healthcare  support  under  the  Facility  and 
additional refugee support.   

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The main pillar of Facility support is an education programme for healthcare providers known 
as  SIHHAT27,  a  project  funded  by  three  consecutive  allocations:  EUR 300  million  in  2016, 
EUR 210  million  in  2020  and  EUR 210  million  in  2023.  SIHHAT  supports  the  Turkish 
Ministry  of  Health  in  its  efforts  to  provide  free  and  equitable  access  to  healthcare  to  all 
refugees.  A  total  of  190  migrant  health  centres  have  been  operating  in  32  provinces  and 
around 4 000 healthcare staff have been working in EU-supported facilities, 75% of whom are 
of  Syrian  origin.  Due  to  the  earthquakes,  there  have  been  losses  in  healthcare  staff  and  17 
centres  were  damaged;  their  services  have  been  moved  to  temporary  health  units.  The 
implementation  of  SIHHAT  II  ended  at  the  beginning  of  2024.  SIHHAT  III  ensures  that 
refugee healthcare services continue thanks to additional EU support of EUR 210 million. 

The  two  hospitals  funded  under  the  Facility  –  Dörtyol/Hatay  and  Kilis  –  have  been  fully 
operational  since  2022  and  provided  crucial  healthcare  services  following  the  2023 
earthquakes, when the capacity of both hospitals was increased to 400 beds. In addition, the 
Facility is building and renovating migrant health centres, procuring medical equipment, and 
maternity  and  hygiene  kits,  and  renovating  physiotherapy  and  rehabilitation  units,  as  a 
complement  to  SIHHAT.  In  2023,  the  construction  of  eight  health  centres  started  and  113 
items of medical equipment have been procured to benefit more than 40 hospitals.  

In  terms  of  humanitarian  support,  two  physical  rehabilitation  centres  in  Kilis  and 
Reyhanli/Hatay continue to operate and provide services such as physiotherapy, mental health 
and psychosocial support for refugees with disabilities and other vulnerabilities.  

Municipal infrastructure 

A total of EUR 380 million has been allocated to municipal infrastructure support under the 
Facility and additional refugee support.  

The  Facility  supports  various  municipalities  by  providing  essential  municipal  services, 
including  water  supply,  sanitation,  and  solid  waste  management.  It  also  supports  local 
infrastructure by providing recreational services. As for the recreational facilities, 12 facilities 
(football  and  tennis  courts)  have  been  completed  while  10  sports  complexes  are  currently 
being built. In 2023, the construction of water and wastewater projects started in the provinces 
of Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, Mersin, Mardin, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay.   

Basic needs and socio-economic support  

A  total  of  EUR 3.7  billion  has  been  allocated  to  basic  needs  and  socio-economic  support 
under the Facility and additional refugee support.  

Interventions  in  this  priority  area  aim  to  help  meet  the  basic  needs  of  the  most  vulnerable 
refugees  and  ensure  that  refugee  resilience  and  self-reliance  are  strengthened.  This  should 
allow for a gradual transition from dependence on social assistance to increased self-reliance 
and livelihood opportunities.     

Under  the  Facility’s  basic  needs  assistance,  more  than  2.6  million  refugees  have  received 
direct  support  that  allows  them  to  live  in  dignity.  Until  July  2023,  most of  the  support  was 
provided  through  the  Emergency  Social  Safety  Net  (ESSN),  a  social  assistance  programme 

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delivering monthly cash assistance via a debit card system to more than 1.6 million refugee 
beneficiaries.  In  July  2023,  the  new  cash  assistance  programme  ‘Social  Safety  Net  for 
Refugees in Türkiye (SSN)’ (EUR 781 million) was signed with the Ministry of Family and 
Social Services. This intervention marks the transition of the ESSN from humanitarian aid to 
longer-term development assistance.  

Under the second tranche of the Facility, the implementation  of the EUR 245 million direct 
grant with the Ministry of Family and Social Services has been almost completed. This grant 
allows  for  the  provision  of  monthly  financial  support  comparable  with  social  assistance 
provided  to  vulnerable  individuals  under  the  Turkish  social  security  system,  i.e.  the 
Complementary ESSN (C-ESSN). The project began running in parallel  with the ESSN and 
provides support to households with single parents,  older people,  and disabled and severely 
disabled people. In 2023, the continuity of the C-ESSN and ESSN28 programmes was assured 
under  the  EUR 3  billion  in  additional  refugee  support  mobilised  for  2021-202329.  Both 
programmes have since been merged into the single contract SSN. 

Additional socio-economic support continues to be provided to refugees  who can access the 
labour market. This support aims to increase refugee and host communities’ employability. It 
provides  vocational  and  skills  training,  language  training,  job  counselling,  and  on-the-job 
training programmes, as well as simplifies the refugees’ work permits process. This support is 
implemented  under  the  Employment  Support  project  and  Transition  to  Labour  Market 
projects (ISDEP I and ISDEP II), both implemented by the World Bank, in cooperation with 
the  Turkish  Employment  Agency  (İŞKUR)  together  with  the  Directorate-General  of 
International Labour Force (DG ILF) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS). 
Grants to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship training are provided to both Syrian refugee and 
host  community  start-ups  and  existing  entrepreneurs,  in  cooperation  with  the  Small  and 
Medium-sized  Industry  Development  Organisation  of  Türkiye  (KOSGEB)  and  the  Turkish 
Development  and  Investment  Bank  (TKYB),  as  well  as  under  the  ENHANCER  project, 
implemented  by  the  International  Centre  for  Migration  Policy  Development  in  cooperation 
with the Ministry of Industry and Technology.  

An  additional  project  helps  develop  and  implement  a  female-led  social  entrepreneurship 
model to provide sustainable income-generating activities for both vulnerable Syrian refugees 
and  Turkish  women.  Two  further  projects  aim  to  support  employment  in  agriculture. 
Moreover, a project implemented by Expertise France (EF) in cooperation with  the Ministry 
of  National  Education  –  Directorate-General  of  Technical  and  vocational  education  and 
training (MoNE- DG TVET) focused on working children and child labour and referred them 
to formal apprenticeship education. MoNE-DG TVET also cooperated with Kreditanstalt für 
Wiederaufbau Development Bank (KfW) to implement another project on formal vocational 

28 It is planned that the next phase of ESSN programme will be taken over by DG NEAR. 
29  Commission  Implementing  Decision  on  the  financing  of  the  individual  measure  for  the  delivery  of  cash 
support to the most vulnerable  refugees in Türkiye for 2022 and 2023  - C(2022) 7822 final  – was adopted on 
4.1.2022  and  Commission  Implementation  Decision  on  the  financing  of  the  individual  measure  to  continue 
support  for  basic  needs  and  transition  to  livelihoods  opportunities  for  refugees  in  Türkiye  in  2022  -  C(2022) 
8887 – was adopted on 7.12.2022. 

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education  to  support  the  young  graduates  entering  the  labour  market  by  placing  them  into 
jobs. Projects should run until mid/end of 2025 at the latest.  

In 2022 and 2023, the continuity of socio-economic support to refugees was assured under the 
EUR 3 billion of additional refugee support mobilised in 2021-2023. In December 2023, three 
additional  livelihood  contracts  with  pillar-assessed  entities  were  signed.  Also  in  2023, 
EUR 182.5  million  was  programmed  for  socio-economic  support  given  the  needs  in  this 
priority area following the February 2023 earthquakes (see also above).  

Migration management  

A  total  of  EUR 480  million  has  been  allocated  to  migration  management  support  under  the 
Facility and additional refugee support30. 

Two  projects  funded  under  the  first  tranche  for  a  total  of  EUR 80  million  have  been 
completed. The first project provided EU support to strengthen the search and rescue capacity 
of  the  Turkish  coastguard,  and  the  second  aimed  to  support  Türkiye’s  Presidency  for 
Migration Management (PMM)31 in its management of returns from the EU.   

Three  new  actions  began  under  the  additional  support  to  refugees  with  a  total  budget  of 
EUR 30 million.  One of these  projects, started in May 2023,  continues  the strengthening of 
the  PMM.  A  capacity-building  project  on  migration  management  started  in  February  2023 
while a capacity-building project aiming to improve capacity and inter-agency cooperation at 
airports  started  in  March  2023.  In  addition,  EUR 220  million  was  allocated  to  strengthen 
Türkiye’s border management capacity in the east and south-east.   

Gender aspects within projects under the Facility 

The EU Gender action plan III ‘Together towards a gender equal world 2021-2025’ continues 
to  guide  the  implementation  of  actions  under  the  Facility.  The  promotion,  protection  and 
fulfilment  of  human  rights  for  women  and  girls  in  all  their  diversity,  gender  equality  and 
women’s and girls’ empowerment remained priorities in 2023. Gender-related considerations 
were  integrated  into  all  Facility  projects  and  have  been  continuously  monitored  through 
disaggregated data (76 indicators).  

The  Facility  significantly  boosted  women’s  employability,  with  over  26 000  completing 
short-term vocational skills training, around 40 000 benefiting from employment counselling 
services,  and  500  women-owned  businesses  receiving  advisory  or  financial  support.  The 
Facility has provided Turkish language courses to refugee women, with approximately 25 000 
adult refugee women and 20 000 female students successfully completing them. Furthermore, 
approximately  55 000  female  refugee  children  have  attended  pre-primary  education  made 
available  through  the  Facility-funded  projects,  with  15 000  female  students  receiving 
educational  scholarships.  In  particular,  nearly  50%  of  the  teachers  and  educational  staff 
engaged by the Facility are women. Cash transfer programmes equally benefits over 1 million 
refugee women, and with regular unconditional resource transfers. Moreover, around 400 000 
families  of  female  students  have  received  conditional  cash  for  education  support.  Separate 

30 This excludes EUR 150 million allocated under HOME instruments. 
31 Then called Directorate-General for Migration Management (DGMM). 

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from  cash  transfer  programmes,  about  500 000  refugee  women  have  received  protection 
referral services, while approximately 550 000 refugee women have benefited from protection 
services through Facility-funded projects. 

5.     Monitoring, evaluation and audit 

In  2023,  reporting  on  Facility  achievements  continued  to  be  based  on  the  Facility  Results 
Framework32 and the Theory of Change33. The latest Facility monitoring report was published 
in December 2023 and can be accessed on the DG NEAR website34.  

The Commission continues to be supported by a technical assistance team (SUMAF35) in its 
Facility monitoring and reporting tasks. By the end of 2023, the SUMAF team has completed 
114 monitoring missions. In addition, 12 on-the-spot checks/monitoring missions were carried 
out  for  refugee  assistance  projects36.  Facility  actions  financed  under  the  humanitarian 
implementation  plans  also  continued  to  be  monitored,  with  89  project-level  monitoring 
missions completed in the reporting period. 

The  European  Court  of  Auditors  conducted  its  second  performance  audit  of  the  Facility  in 
2022-2023.  The  audit  report,  including  the  Court’s  findings  and  recommendations,  and  the 
Commission’s replies, was published on 24 April 2024 and is available online.  

6.     Communication and visibility 

In 2023, activities continued to strengthen the visibility of the Facility’s actions and raise the 
profile  of  the  EU  in  assisting  Türkiye  in  hosting  the  refugee  population.  Priorities  included 
ensuring  awareness,  visibility  and  understanding  among  the  general  public,  the  media, 
policymakers and other stakeholders within the EU, Türkiye and the international community. 
Facility  communication  activities  were  temporarily  scaled  down  in  the  months  before  and 
during the May parliamentary and presidential  elections due to  a sharp increase of negative 
official rhetoric and public sentiment towards the refugees during this period.   

In  February-June,  communication  activities  focused  on  the  EU  response  to  and  assistance 
after the devastating earthquakes, which disrupted the lives of millions of refugees and host 
communities.  As  a  result,  the  EU’s  role  was  acknowledged  by  two  thirds  of  the  population 
(according to a June opinion poll). It also helped mitigate some of the negative rhetoric in the 

32 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-
06/Facility%20Results%20Framework_Jun2022.pdf 
33 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/99c1bfa3-1853-42ff-ae3b-
59622f7bdab1_en?filename=EU%20support%20to%20refugees%20in%20TR_Theory%20of%20Change%2020
24.pdf  
34 https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/negotiations-status/turkey/eu-facility-
refugees-turkey_en 
35 Technical Assistance to Support the monitoring of Actions financed under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey 
– IPA/2018/393-877. 
36 Cumulative figures from 2017. 

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run-up to the elections. Europe Day in May in Ankara featured a digital exhibition on the EU 
rescue  effort  after  the  earthquakes,  which  helped  promote  EU  narratives  about  refugees. 
Several  photos  and  videos  were  also  used  during  public  events  in  May  in  Brussels.  In  the 
autumn,  the  production  of  the  photo  album  dedicated  to  the  rescue  effort  was  launched  in 
close cooperation with EU Member State embassies. The project was completed in February 
2024 and is to be the centrepiece of a series of communication events during the year.  

The  Head  of  EU  Delegation  in  Türkiye  carried  out  several  visits  to  the  earthquake  areas 
throughout the year, raising the visibility of EU projects for refugees and host communities, 
including a major press trip to the earthquake-affected areas in and around Urfa. The Head of 
Delegation  also  visited  Brussels  three  times  accompanied  by  groups  of  Turkish  journalists, 
including  a  visit  to  the  international  donors’  conference  in  March,  helping  to  increase 
awareness,  visibility  and  understanding  of  EU  support  to  refugees.  The  visits  of 
Commissioner Lenarčič in February and Commissioner Várhelyi in February and September 
enabled EU messages on refugees and host communities to be delivered to broad audiences 
and included a signing ceremony and press release on the extension of EU basic needs support 
in September.   

In May 2023, the EU Delegation in  Ankara launched a  success  stories project that included 
several  stories  from  projects  financed  under  the  Facility.  These  were  posted  on  the 
Delegation’s  website,  advertised  on  social  media  accounts  and  shared  with  the  media  and 
stakeholders.  
other 

7.     Conclusion and next steps 

The Facility continued to be implemented quickly in 2023. The full operational budget of the 
Facility  was  contracted  and  EUR 5.3  billion  disbursed.  The  Facility  continued  to  provide 
much  needed  assistance  to  refugees  and  host  communities  in  Türkiye.  Additional  refugee 
assistance allocated for 2020-2027 aims to ensure the sustainability of Facility achievements. 

The next steps include: 

•  continuing  effective  implementation  of  all  projects  to  benefit  refugees  and  host 

communities, in line with the principles of sound financial management; 

•  continuing the roll-out of Facility-related communication activities; 
•  organising a Facility Steering Committee in spring 2025;  
•  programming  additional  support  to  refugees  and  host  communities  in  Türkiye  to 

ensure the sustainability of Facility achievements; and 

•  starting  a  debate  with  Member  States,  the  European  Parliament  and  Türkiye  on  the 
recommendations of the European Court of Auditors second operational audit of the 
Facility. 

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