EU pledges additional aid to Turkey to address refugees

The European Union (EU) has decided to provide additional funding to Turkey to address the refugee problem.

British media The Times and Reuters reported that Charles Michel, the executive chairman of the EU Summit and Executive Chairman Urzula Ponderaien, visited Ankara, the Turkish capital, to meet and gather opinions with Turkish President Rezef Taif Erdogan on the 6th (local time). Reported this.

“The EU Commission will make a proposal sooner or later,” said Chairman Michelle and Chairman Pon der Rayen at a press conference after the meeting.

In March 2016, the EU signed a refugee repatriation agreement providing Turkey with 6 billion euros (about 8 trillion won) to block the inflow of refugees.

At that time, the number of refugees heading to Greece through Turkey soared to about 850,000 in one year, and most of them were Syrian refugees undergoing civil war.

Since then, Turkey has admitted about 4 million refugees, but has complained that it has received only 3.7 billion euros of the funds promised by the EU.

President Erdogan met with EU leadership in Brussels, Belgium in March last year, asking for additional assistance to accommodate refugees.

It is noteworthy that additional EU aid to Turkey will ease tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey is in a dispute with EU member states Greece and Cyprus over the issue of natural gas development in the East Mediterranean, and the EU has warned Turkey of additional sanctions in this regard.

In August of last year, there was an immediate situation, such as a confrontation between Turkish and Greek warships in the East Mediterranean Sea.

However, in the past few months, Turkey and Greece resumed discussions on the issue of the Middle East, and the EU has also been looking for a possibility to improve relations.

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