Eu 'Discusses' Grant For Turkey To Help Syrian Refugees

The European Union is in discussions to grant €70 million to Turkey to help it cope with the massive influx of Syrian refugees on its territory, a senior EU official said Friday.



The official, who requested not to be named, said Turkey needed a plan to integrate the Syrians since the current guest status for the refugees could not be managed any longer.



Turkey has been hosting the refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in March 2011.



However, Turkey has not granted the Syrians refugee status and continues to host them as "guests."



The official added that it was difficult and costly for Turkey to continue hosting the Syrians in camps.



"The Syrian children need to go to school and they need to have access to housing and healthcare," the EU official said.



About the €70 million grant, the official said "the vast majority of this fund is for the integration and some is for the humanitarian aid budget for those fleeing from Kobani."



Turkey has already spent an estimated $4 billion on the Syrian refugees. However, the international community has given the Turkish government only $300 million to deal with the crisis.



The European Commission gave €3.9 million in mid-October.



Around 1.5 million refugees have fled the Syria conflict into Turkey. Around 180,000 of these Syrians came recently from the Syrian border town of Kobani, which has been under a relentless attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or the ISIL since mid-September.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara