The EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT) Projects

Turkey currently hosts over 4 million refugees and the EU is committed to assist Turkey in dealing with this challenge. The EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, managing a total of €6 billion in two tranches, provides for a joint coordination mechanism, designed to ensure that the needs of refugees and host communities in Turkey are addressed in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Facility focuses on humanitarian assistance, education, migration management, health, municipal infrastructure, and socio-economic support.

Recognizing the need for a coordinating mechanism to financially assist Turkey in its remarkable efforts, the Facility for Refugees in Turkey entered into force in March 2016. The Facility for Refugees in Turkey was the response to the EU Member States’ call for significant additional funding to support refugees in the country. The Facility was designed to ensure that the needs of both refugees and host communities were addressed in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Facility was active in six priority areas: humanitarian assistance, education, health, municipal infrastructure, socio-economic support, and migration management.

Year(s): 2016 and 2021

Target group(s): Refugees (Syrian refugees)

Website or other online channels: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/negotiations-status/turkey/eu-facility-refugees-turkey_en

Methodology

To ensure the coordination, complementarity and efficiency of the assistance, the Facility Steering Committee provides strategic guidance on the type of actions to be financed, with what amount, and through which financing instruments. The Steering Committee was chaired by the European Commission and composed of EU Member State representatives, with Turkey sitting in an advisory capacity. Decisions were taken on the basis of an assessment of needs and following the procedure of the financing instruments mobilised.

The implementation of actions financed from the Facility was being carried out by ECHO (European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department) for humanitarian assistance, IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession), IcSP (Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace), and the EUTF (EU Regional Trust Fund for Syrian Refugees) for non-humanitarian assistance.

Type of product

Paper-based material Online resource Course / Training Financial & economic support

Brief description of the outcomes

FRIT supported refugees in Turkey to make a living in the long term and their socio-economic and educational perspectives. Good progress had been made in 26 projects contracted so far under the development pillar, and two of these contracts had been completed. Within the scope of the PICTES (Supporting the Integration of Syrian Children into the Turkish Education System) project, approximately 400,000 students attended Turkish language training, 43,000 students benefited from support trainings, and 19,000 teachers and administrators were trained. Within the scope of the program, studies in the field of health continued to be supported through the SIHHAT (Improving the Health Status of Syrians under Temporary Protection and Related Services Provided) Project, which provided refugees with access to health services. More than 2,500 health personnel (69% of them Syrian refugees) took part in the service delivery in 178 Migrant Health Centers.

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

Works in the fields of livelihood support and socio-economic support played an important role in the integration of refugees into Turkish society and support the socio-economic integration that was seriously needed. Turkish language courses were organized to reduce the language problem that hinders effective integration, and vocational trainings were planned to increase the employability of refugees and their integration into the labor market.

Since the implementation of FRIT, 45 humanitarian projects had been implemented by 19 partners, addressing basic needs, protection, education and health needs. Social Cohesion Assistance (S.U.Y), the EU's leading humanitarian programme, continued to respond to the needs of vulnerable refugees – together with the Turkish authorities and the World Food Programme. In this context, more than 1.5 million people were reached through the monthly cash transfer program. In addition, with the Conditional Education Assistance (Ş.E.Y.) program, access to formal education had been facilitated and financial support was provided to the families of more than 470,000 children who went to school.

Promoter of the initiative: European Union

Country: Turkey

Languages available: English Turkish

Website or other online channels: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/negotiations-status/turkey/eu-facility-refugees-turkey_en