Turkey says EU funds not being actively used for needs of Syrian refugees

ISTANBUL – A substantial portion of the funds promised by the European Union (EU) to help Syrian refugees in Turkey is still not being used actively to meet their needs, Turkey's EU Ministry said on Saturday.

Of the 6 billion euros ($7.20 billion) agreed upon in two deals in 2015 and 2016, only 1.78 billion euros has been transferred to Turkish ministries and international organizations responsible for implementing the projects, the ministry said in a statement.

"While Turkey has used more than $30 billion of its national funds for the needs of Syrians who have been in Turkey for approximately seven years, a substantial amount of the 3 billion euros promised by the EU in Nov. 2015 has effectively not been used in the field."

Of the 1.78 billion euros transferred so far, it said 1.3 billion went to international organizations, 270 million to the Ministry of Education, 120 million to the Ministry of Health, and 12 million to the Ministry of the Interior.