EU aims at expressing solidarity with all refugees by supporting migrants in Turkey, says EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson
BRUSSELS
The European Union is not paying money to the Turkish government, it is supporting the refugees in the country, a top EU official said on Tuesday.
“Let’s make clear, the European Commission is not paying money to the Turkish government. We are supporting Syrian refugees in Turkey,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told a hearing in the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee.
After presenting the bloc’s Action Plan against migrant smuggling, Johansson responded to EU lawmakers’ questions about other aspects of migration.
Asked about EU funds to Turkey, Johansson stressed that “Turkey is the country in the world that is hosting the biggest refugee community,” with as much as 4 million.
“I think it’s a decent way of showing solidarity towards refugees that we are also supporting refugees in Turkey,” she noted.
Johansson also acknowledged that both the EU and Turkey had to work on dismantling smuggling networks.
In 2016, the EU and Turkey made an agreement to stop irregular refugee flows and improve the conditions of Syrian refugees in Turkey.
