The EU’s Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT) has formally closed after a final Steering Committee meeting in Brussels involving representatives from the EU, its member states, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
FRIT was set up in March 2016 as part of the EU–Turkey Statement and mobilised €6 billion between 2016 and 2019, funded equally by the EU budget and EU member states, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday.
The funding supported 115 projects, including help with basic needs, access to health services and education, and improvements to public infrastructure, it added. Programmes also supported livelihoods and social inclusion.
Türkiye was hosting more than 3.1 million Syrian refugees and nearly 4 million refugees in total when the Facility was established in 2016.
Some projects will continue beyond the closure
While the Facility’s coordination mechanism has ended, 11 of the 115 projects are still ongoing.
Extensions were needed because of delays linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the February 2023 earthquakes and inflationary pressures.
Five of the remaining projects are expected to finish by the end of 2026, while the rest are due to be completed in 2028–2029.
EU support for refugees in Turkey has continued outside the FRIT framework, with a further €6 billion mobilised for 2020–2027 to sustain and expand assistance.
Programmes in this phase are still being implemented and cover services including protection, education, health care and socio-economic opportunities.
