The Commission signed an agreement with Türkiye on a €400 million grant from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to finance post-disaster recovery operations after the devastating earthquakes that hit the country in early 2023.
The signing of the agreement took place in Brussels, between Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira and Turkish Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mehmet Kemal Bozay.
This is the largest financial contribution awarded under the EUSF for a candidate country since its inception in 2002, and it is part of the €1 billion support that the EU announced for Türkiye in March 2023 at the International Donors’ Conference. The Conference, co-hosted by the Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council, helped to raise a total of €7 billion in pledges for those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
The grant worth a total of €400 million is part of an EU Solidarity Fund package adopted by the Commission on 23 August 2023 and will further support Türkiye in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
The Turkish authorities intend to use the assistance for:
- restoring infrastructure in the fields of health, education, and water and wastewater management;
- providing temporary accommodation to meet the needs of the population; and
- implementing measures to protect the country’s rich, cultural heritage.
The Commission will disburse the €400 million in EUSF assistance to Türkiye in a single installment. Counting from the day of payment, Türkiye has 18 months to use the funds and must submit an implementation report 6 months after this period.
