COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Ninth Annual Report on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey
Date: 2025-09-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, 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

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.9.2025  COM(2025) 517 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Ninth Annual Report on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey  
 
 
Contents 

1. 

Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 

1.1.  Türkiye and the refugee crisis............................................................................................ 1 

1.2.  The EU response to the crisis and the establishment of the Facility ................................. 2 

2.     The functioning of the Facility .......................................................................................... 3 

3.     Financial capacity, duration and nature of funding ........................................................... 4 

4.     Implementation of the Facility ........................................................................................... 6 

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

6.     Communication and visibility .......................................................................................... 15 

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

 
 
 
 
1. 

Introduction 

Under Article 8 (1) of Commission Decision C(2015) 95001 (‘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. This 
report is based on data until and including February 2025. 

1.1.1.  Türkiye and the refugee crisis 

Due to its geographic position, Türkiye is a prominent reception and transit country for refugees 
and  migrants.  In  January  2025,  according  to  data  provided  by  the Turkish  government,  the 
country hosted 2 888 876 Syrians under temporary protection and more than 300 000 registered 
refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Somalia3,4. This has had 
a significant impact on 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. Following the 
fall of the Assad  regime in  December 2024, and  according to  data provided by the Turkish 
authorities, an increasing number of Syrians with termporary protection status in Türkiye have 
been crossing the border with Syria. Data are not fully clear on whether these are permanent 
returns or go-and-see visits5. The Turkish authorities have underlined that returns should be 
voluntary, safe, dignified and orderly. 

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 20166 (‘the Statement’). The Statement continued to deliver concrete 
results in 2024. Although still lower than the pre-Statement figures, irregular arrivals in Greece 

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. 
2 https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9dc8736f-c734-48be-8678-aca919a6a1bf_en.  
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 On 29 January 2025, the Turkish Ministry of Interior announced that since 9 December 2024, 81 576 refugees 
had returned to Syria. Furthermore, in line with UNHCR recommendation, it confirmed that President Erdoğan 
approved  go-and-see  visits  for  Syrians  from  Türkiye  from  1 January  until  1 July 2025.  Within  this  six-month 
period, a designated head of the family will be able to enter/leave the country three times without losing their 
temporary protection status.  
6 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/.  

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by sea continued to increase, as well as arrivals by land to Bulgaria, while arrivals in Italy and 
in the government-controlled territory of Cyprus decreased considerably7.  

The  ‘One-for-One’  resettlement  scheme  continued  to  be  implemented  under  the  Statement. 
Between April 2016 and February 2025, more than 43 815 Syrian refugees were resettled from 
Türkiye to the EU. Since 2016, 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 following the COVID-19 pandemic, no return operations 
have  taken  place  since,  despite  repeated  requests  from  the  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 its modernisation; ii) migration and support to refugees; iii) high-
level dialogues; and 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 increase cooperation in a number of areas of common interest, subject to 
the  established  conditions  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 reinvigorate 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 Brussels in November 2023 and a new meeting is expected to be held in 
the first half of 2025.  

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 2016  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 

7 Between January and December 2024, 65 574 irregular migrants arrived in the EU from Türkiye compared to 
57 597 arrivals during the same period in 2023  – a 14% increase. In 2024 in total, irregular arrivals by sea to 
Greece increased by 31% compared to 2023. Arrivals to Greece by land increased to a much lower extent at 2%. 
At the same time, the number of arrivals in Cyprus via the Green Line went down by 42% between January and 
December 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. Moreover, between January and February 2025, 4 537 
irregular migrants arrived in the EU from Türkiye compared to 7 426 arrivals during the same period in 2024 – a 
39% decrease. The migratory route from Türkiye to Italy has significantly reduced in 2024 with around 3 366 
arrivals, making Türkiye the origin of 5% of the irregular border crossing to Italy. In 2015, before the EU-Turkey 
Statement, irregular arrivals from the Eastern Mediterranean route were at 885 386. 

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States integrated into the EU budget as external assigned revenue8. 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 at 
the  time  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 that aimed 
to  deepen  EU-Türkiye  relations  and  address  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 2024 over EUR 5.7 billion had been 
disbursed.  

2.  The functioning of the Facility  

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

8 External revenues under Article 21(2), point (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  under  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). 
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. 
12 Commission Decision C(2015) 9500 of 24.11.2015, Article 2 – Objectives of the Facility. 

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mobilised and 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.  

The sustainability of Facility projects and co-ownership by the Turkish authorities continue to 
be  important.  The  importance  of  sustainability  and  impact  were  highlighted  in  the 
recommendations  of  the  European  Court  of Auditors’  second  special  report  of April  2024. 
Priority areas for assistance are identified based on a comprehensive and independent needs 
assessment, which was updated in 2018. 

The  Facility  coordinated  financing  from  the  following  external  financing  instruments14: 
i) humanitarian  aid;  ii)  the  European  Neighbourhood  Instrument;  iii)  the  Development 
Cooperation Instrument (DCI); 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  the  end  of  2025  (with  four  projects 
extended  until  the  end  of  2029  due  to  force  majeure  like  the  2023  earrthquake)  with  many 
projects  under  the  first  tranche  completed  and  most  projects  scheduled  to  ﬁnish  on  time  or 
before the fnal deadline. 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.  

As regards EU budget resources, out 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.  Out  of  the  EUR 2 
billion from the EU budget for 2018-2019, EUR 550 million was mobilised in 2018, with the 
balance mobilised in 2019. 

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 the 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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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 revenueand 
assigned to the budget lines of the IPA and 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. 

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 aimed to ensure that key Facility interventions could continue in the 
priority  areas  of  humanitarian  assistance,  basic  needs,  education  and  health,  as  well  as 
migration management and border control. It also included 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 included EUR 14.4 million under a Support Measure, which was adopted in October 
2024. 

A significant part of the funding for 2021-2023 was mobilised in response to the devastating 
2023  earthquakes  in  Türkiye,  with  a  total  of  EUR 355.6  million  being  directed  to  socio-
economic support, municipal infrastructure, education infrastrucure, and health infrastructure. 

In February 2024, the European Council decided to allocate a further EUR 2 billion to maintain 
effective migration cooperation with non-EU countries, including support for Syrian refugees 
in Türkiye, as part of an agreement on the revision of the multiannual  financial framework 
(MFF) 2021-2027.  

At the Syria Conference of May 2024, the Commission pledged EUR 1 billion in support to 
refugees and host communities in Türkiye. This amount included EUR 520 million from the 
regular  budget  for  2024  to  ensure  refugee  assistance  continues,  and  EUR 480  million 
frontloaded from the EUR 2 billion allocation mentioned above, leaving some EUR 1.5 billion 
for 2025-2027. The EUR 1 billion package included five measures focusing on: i) education 
(EUR 80 million); ii) basic needs, healthcare, municipal services and social cohesion (EUR 421 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
million); iii) migration management and border control (EUR 398 million); iv) provisioning 
for potential future re-engagement by the European Investment Bank generating potential loans 
for  refugee-related  investment  (EUR 75  million);  and  v)  humanitarian  assistance  (EUR 26 
million). 

Total EU funding allocated to refugee and host community assistance in Türkiye since 
2011  amounts  to  EUR 12.4  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 1 billion in 
2024, and an additional EUR 1.5 billion of planned assistance 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 assistance16. 
For  the  Facility  overall,  the  breakdown  of  humanitarian  and  development  assistance  as  of 
December 2024 is as follows:  

Amount committed

41%

59%

Development
Assistance
(EUR 3.536 billion)

Humanitarian
Assistance
(EUR 2.440 billion)

For full details, see the online projects table17. 

Assistance provided under the Facility is project-based. Disbursements depend on the progress 
made in the implementation of Facility interventions. Facility support includes assistance to 
both refugees and host comunities. 

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

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Humanitarian assistance under the Facility aims to help the most vulnerable refugees through 
providing  dignified  support  addressing  basic  needs  and  protection18.  It  also  addresses  gaps 
through specialised agencies and partners in  the  priority areas  of health and education. 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 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 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 1.4  billion  was  disbursed,  while  for  the  second  tranche, 
EUR 1.05 billion was contracted and EUR 1.04 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,  progress  continued  to  be  made  in  the 
implementation of 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 3.2  billion  out  of  a  total  of 
EUR 3.5  billion  allocated  to  development  assistance  under  both  tranches23.  Under  the  first 
tranche, around EUR 1.6 billion in development assistance was allocated and contracted and 
EUR 1.6 billion was disbursed, while for the second tranche, EUR 1.9 billion was contracted 
and close to EUR 1.7 million was disbursed. 

18 A total of EUR 352 million has been allocated to protection under the Facility, primarily through humanitarian 
assistance. Activities have included refugee registration and verification, strengthening institutional capacity of 
Türkiye’s  Presidency  of  Migration  Management,  and  targeted  protection  interventions  for  vulnerable  groups. 
Protection has also been mainstreamed across basic needs, health, and education. 
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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The development strand of the Facility includes 14 ongoing contracts. 

In 2024, Facility 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.  

Facility interventions per priority area  

Progress made per priority area under both tranches of the Facility is reported on in the Facility 
monitoring reports24. There have been significant achievements in the following priority areas. 

Education  

A  total  of  EUR 2.08  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 has been 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. In 2024, the CCTE VI programme 
supported  up  to  585 000  vulnerable  refugee  children  via  conditional  cash  transfers  for 
education, in return for regularly attending public schools. A total of 42 312 refugee children 
at  risk  have  benefited  from  protection  services  via  the Turkish  government’s  social  service 
centres and the Turkish Red Crescent’s community centres.  

In September 2024, cash assistance levels were adjusted to mitigate the negative impact of high 
inflation. However, the number of students benefiting from the programme declined slightly 
during the year due to financial hardship and the application of the address-based verification 
system. Under this system, families under temporary protection who changed their residency 
without prior approval from the authorities faced suspension of their status, leading to their 
exclusion from social assistance programmes. 

In August  2024,  the  Minister  of  Interior  announced  that  729  000  Syrians  under  temporary 
protection  could  not  be  located  at  their  registered  addresses  and  should  reactivate  their 
registration. As a result, children from these families were unable to apply for social assistance 
programmes, such as the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE), or had to drop out 
of  the  programme  entirely. To  address  these  challenges,  the  Ministry  of  Family  and  Social 
Services strengthened the child protection component in the last quarter of 2024. 

The implementation of the Facility flagship programme (Promoting Integration of Syrian Kids 
in the Turkish Education System – PIKTES II) by the Ministry of National Education, with a 
total budget of EUR 400 million, ended in January 2023. It was followed up by PIKTES+25 

24 https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/turkiye/eu-support-refugees-turkiye_en  
25 Promoting Inclusive Education for Kids in the Turkish Education System (PIKTES+). 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
with  a  total  budget  of  EUR 300  million  funded  under  additional  assistance  for  refugees  in 
Türkiye.  In  November  2024,  PIKTES+  received  a  further  EUR 80  million  to  help  pay  for 
teachers’ salaries.  

The overall aim of EU refugee assistance in this priority area continues to be the integration of 
all refugee children into the Turkish formal education system, complemented by reaching out-
of-school  children  and  creating  safe  pathways  to  learning,  as  well  as  improving  learning 
outcomes. As of March 2024, 74% (834 169) of refugee children were participating in formal 
education (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  or  higher  education  institutions 
reached 29 049. Most of these students were refugees and gender balance was maintained.  

The  Facility  also  continued  to  support  educational  infrastructure  development  and  helped 
reduce school overcrowding. There has been significant progress in the number of educational 
facilities upgraded and completed. A major achievement in upgrading was the installation of 
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. Rooftop solar panels 
installed  in  schools  generate  power  for  50  schools  and  energy  efficiency  improvement 
measures were completed for 41 schools. 

In 2024, contracts were signed to help reconstruct education infrastructure in Türkiye in the 
aftermath  of  the  earthquakes  of  February  2023.  This  funding  aims  to  increase  access  to 
education for both refugees and host communities. 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 three years. As of January 2025, 5 702 higher education students have been 
awarded scholarship, 3 077 of them Syrian and 2 625 Turkish students. 

Protection  

A  total  of  EUR 352  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 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 
refugee 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 groups26, 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,  the  implementation  of  a  direct  grant  to  the 
Ministry  of  Family  and  Social  Services  of  EUR 20  million  continued. This  project  aims  to 
increase access for vulnerable segments of both the Turkish and refugee population to quality 
social services as well as the Ministry’s ability to deliver integrated and quality social services.  

Health 

A  total  of  EUR 1.05  billion  has  been  allocated  to  healthcare  support  under  the  Facility  and 
additional refugee support.   

The main pillar of Facility funding is supporting migrant health known as SIHHAT, a project 
financed 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 176 migrant health 
centres  and  nine  container  health  units  have  been  operating  in  32  provinces  and  3 500 
healthcare staff have been working in EU-supported facilities, over 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  container  health  units.  The 
implementation  of  SIHHAT  II  ended  in  mid-2024.  SIHHAT  III  ensures  refugee  healthcare 
services  continue  with  additional  EU  support  amounting  to  EUR  210  million  in  2023,  and 
EUR 50 million in 2024. 

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 continues to build and renovate migrant health centres, procuring medical equipment,  
maternity  and  hygiene  kits,  and  renovating  physiotherapy  and  rehabilitation  units,  as  a 
complement to SIHHAT. In 2024, the construction of eight health centres started and 113 items 
of medical equipment were procured to benefit more than 40 hospitals.  

26 These include refugees living in the most affected provinces of the 2023 earthquakes, and vulnerable refugee 
and  migrant  groups  with  specific  protection  needs  (e.g.  single-headed  households,  persons  with  disabilities, 
survivors of gender-based violence, LGBTIQ+), including some 300 000 out of school children.   

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 509 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  recreational  facilities,  12  facilities 
(football and tennis courts) have been completed while 10 sports complexes are currently being 
built. The construction of water and wastewater projects in the provinces of Kilis, Şanlıurfa, 
Gaziantep, Mersin, Mardin, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay continues.   

Additional municipal infrastructure contracts were prepared in 2023 and 2024. Their purpose 
is to enable the continuation of a project that aims to strengthen vulnerable young people by 
providing inclusive sport and youth infrastructure, as well as the continuation of a project aimed 
at rehabiliating water supply and wastewater systems. 

Another  contract  in  this  priority  area  was  signed  in  2024  with  the  Turkish  Ministry  of 
Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change to help prepare and implement the municipal 
infrastructure  projects  for  which  loans  from  international  financial  institutions  will  be 
facilitated through Ilbank. 

Basic needs and socio-economic support  

A total of EUR 4 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 strengthen refugee resilience and self-reliance. 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 allowing them to live in dignity. Until July 2023, most support was provided through 
the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), a social assistance programme delivering monthly 
cash assistance via a debit card system to more than 1.6 million refugee beneficiaries. 

Under the second tranche of the Facility, the implementation of a EUR 245 million direct grant 
with the Ministry of Family  and Social Services was  completed. This  grant  allowed  for the 
provision  of  monthly  financial  support  comparable  with  social  assistance  provided  to 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
vulnerable individuals under the Turkish social security system, i.e. the Complementary ESSN 
(C-ESSN). The project ran in parallel with the ESSN and provided support to households with 
single parents, older people and people with disabilities (including with severe disabilities). In 
2024, the continuity of the C-ESSN and ESSN27 programmes was assured under the EUR 3 
billion in additional refugee support mobilised for 2021-202328 outside of the framework of the 
Facility. Both programmes have since been merged into the single contract. In July 2023, this 
new  cash  assistance  programme,  the  ‘Social  Safety  Net  for  Refugees  in  Türkiye  (SSN)’ 
(EUR 781  million)  was  signed  with  the  Ministry  of  Family  and  Social  Services.  This 
intervention  marked  the  transition  of  the  ESSN  from  humanitarian  aid  to  longer-term 
development assistance, with DG ECHO no longer involved in management of the programme. 
The current  programme (SSN) supports just over 1.4 million refugees in meeting their daily 
basic needs. 

Additional socio-economic support continues to be provided to refugees  to facilite their access 
the labour market. The EU’s strategy in this priority area covers both the supply and demand 
side of the labour market. The main types of support include technical and vocational education 
and training; short-term  vocational training courses including on-the-job training, soft skills 
training, job and vocational counselling and support services as well as work permit support. 
Regarding short-term vocational skills development training courses, 11 779 participants were 
registered in short-term vocational skills development training courses over a six-month period 
in 2024, bringing the cumulative number of beneficiaries to 83 789, of which 51% were men. 
Furthermore, data collected from three projects in the same period reported an increase of 8 
584 new jobs created by enterprises established or expanded with EU refugee support, bringing 
the total to 15 004 jobs. 

The second major strand of the programme focuses on establishing new businesses and the 
expanding those in existence through material and non-material support to improve formal job 
creation.  The  Employment  Support  and  Support  for  Transition  to  Labour  Market  projects 
(ISDEP I and ISDEP II), implemented 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, focus on increasing formal employment of refugees 
and  members  of  host  communities.  ISDEP  I  was  successfuly  completed  in  2024.  Grants  to 
entrepreneurs,  including  entrepreneurship  training,  as  well  as  material  and  non-material 
support  to  both  refugees  and  host  communities  to  create  jobs  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
Small and Medium-sized Industry Development Organisation of Türkiye (KOSGEB) and the 
Turkish Development and Investment Bank (TKYB).  

The Enhancement of Entrepreneurship Capacities for Sustainable Socio-Economic Integration 
(ENHANCER) and the Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion in Refugee and 

27 It is planned that the next phase of ESSN programme will be taken over by DG ENEST. 
28 Commission Implementing Decision of 4.1.2022 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)  and  Commission 
Implementation Decision of 7.12.2022 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). 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Host  Communities  in  Turkey  projects  share  the  same  objective  and  are  implemented  in 
cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Additional projects are taking place 
in  the  areas  of  agricultural  employment,  vocational  training,  and  apprenticeships.  Further 
socio-economic  support  contracts  were  signed  in  2024.  They  include  contracts  that  aim  to 
improve sustainable livelihoods and formal employment for refugees and host communities in 
areas affected by the February 2023 earthquakes.  

Migration management 

A total  of EUR 878 million  has  been allocated to migration management  support under the 
Facility and additional refugee support29. 

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 
Management30 in its management of returns from the EU.   

In  2024,  three  projects  amounting  to  EUR 30  million  under  additional  refugee  support 
continued to be implemented in order to: i) strengthen the capacity of Türkiye’s Presidency for 
Migration Management to counter irregular migration; ii) improve inter-service cooperation of 
border management agencies at airports; and iii) continue providing operational support for the 
management of removal centres. 

A EUR 220 million contract signed in December 2023 has been implemented since 2024. It 
aims  to  further  strengthen  border  management  at  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  border  of 
Türkiye. In 2024, under additional support to refugees, a further EUR 398 million was allocated 
to support Türkiye’s migration and border management capacity. The focus of this funding is 
on:  i) voluntary returns to countries of origin;  ii) strengthening international  and temporary 
protection procedures; iii) preventing migrant smuggling; iv) land and sea border security; and 
regular migration. It also included a EUR 50 million top-up that was allocated to the above 
border management project.  

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 2024. Gender-related considerations 
were  integrated  into  all  Facility  projects  and  have  been  continuously  monitored  through 
disaggregated data (76 indicators).  

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

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 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  2024,  reporting  on  Facility  achievements  continued  to  be  based  on  the  Facility  Results 
Framework31 and the Theory of Change32. The 13th Facility monitoring report was published 
in December 2024 and can be accessed on the DG ENEST website33.  

At the end of 2024, the Commission signed a new contract to ensure the continuation of the 
Facility monitoring and data management system as set up under the first technical assistance 
contract  (SUMAR)34.  The  original  SUMAF35  contract  ended  in  December;  it  reported  127 
monitoring  missions  (covering  four  ad  hoc  missions),  53  on-the-spot  checks  and  112 
monitoring missions36. 

In  May  2024,  the  Commission  signed  a  framework  contract  for  the  final  evaluation  of  the 
Facility. Following the Facility strategic mid-term evaluation of 2021, the final evaluation is to 
focus on the second tranche of the Facility and should be completed at the end of 2025, marking 
the conclusion of the Facility.  

The European Court of Auditors issued its second performance audit of the Facility in April 
2024.  The  audit  report,  including  the  Court’s  findings  and  recommendations,  and  the 

31 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/23babb53-e316-4361-b373-
78f0ce1d663e_en?filename=EU%20support%20to%20Refugees%20in%20TR_Results%20Framework.pdf  
32 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/99c1bfa3-1853-42ff-ae3b-
59622f7bdab1_en?filename=EU%20support%20to%20refugees%20in%20TR_Theory%20of%20Change%202
024.pdf  
33 https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/turkiye/eu-support-refugees-turkiye_en  
34 Technical Assistance to Monitor the Performance of EU Support to Refugees in Türkiye – IPA/2024/461-735. 
35 Technical Assistance to Support the Monitoring of Actions financed under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey 
– IPA/2021/429-105 (Addendum VI to the Contract IPA/2018/393-877). 
36 Cumulative figures from 2017. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commission’s  replies,  was  published  on  24 April 2024  and  is  available  online37.  A  key 
recommendation  by  the  Court  was  for  the  Commission  to  improve  the  way  the  impact  of 
Facility projects is measured, and to begin a discussion with Member States and the Turkish 
authorities on how to ensure their sustainability.  

6.  Communication and visibility  

In 2024, 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.  Due  to  the  sharp 
increase  of  negative  official  rhetoric  and  public  sentiment  towards  the  refugees  during  this 
period,  activities  were  focused  on  the  EU  assistance  to  the  refuges  and  host  communities 
following the February 2023 earthquakes. Examples include: i) a press trip in the end of January 
2024; ii) several success stories and videos; iii) an event, publication, video and photo album 
‘Stronger Together’ on the role played by EU rescue workers in assisting refugees and host 
communities  in  February  2023,  organised  in  close  cooperation  with  EU  Member  States  in 
Ankara; and iv) a high-visibility of visit by Commissioner Ferreira at the end of April 2024.  

7.  Conclusion and next steps 

The Facility continued to be implemented in 2024. The full operational budget of the Facility 
was contracted by the end of 2020, and EUR 5.7 billion disbursed by the end of 2024. The 
Facility  continued  to  provide  much  needed  assistance  to  refugees  and  host  communities  in 
Türkiye.  Additional  refugee  assistance  allocated  for  2020-2024  aims  to  ensure  the 
sustainability of Facility achievements. 

The next steps include: 

•  continuing effective implementation of all Facility 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 final Facility Steering Committee in 2025;  
•  programming additional support for 2025-2027 to refugees and host communities in 

Türkiye to ensure the sustainability of Facility achievements. 

37 https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2024-06/SR-2024-06_EN.pdf  

15