In 2015, at the height of the migration crisis, French President François Hollande said "we need Turkey. It takes in a lot of refugees." Nine years later, the situation has not changed, except that the number of migrants arriving on European Union territory has fallen drastically. The agreement between Brussels and Ankara, negotiated on the initiative of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, set out a €6 billion aid package for Syrian refugees in Turkey. In return, Turkey promised to slow down irregular migration and manage readmissions – in other words, deportations, voluntary if possible, forced if necessary.

The agreement, which came into force on March 20, 2016, involved the payment of two installments, to which an additional allocation of €3 billion was added in 2023. The extra funding underscores the importance of immigration in EU election campaigns and highlights the substantial challenges Turkey faces.

With a total population of some 87 million, the country is currently home to 4 million registered refugees, including over 3.2 million of Syrian origin and over 320,000 from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. Since less than 5% of these refugees live in camps, their presence has and continues to have a considerable impact on local communities, particularly in the provinces close to the Syrian border and around the main urban centers.

The European Court of Auditors' report on the management of these funds has been eagerly awaited. The first audit took place in 2018, and nothing since. The document, made public on Wednesday, April 24, has drawn up a long list of observations and recommendations on 14 development projects (out of 47) according to their importance and fields of action, ranging from socio-economic support to health and infrastructure. The picture that has emerged is one of mixed results.

While the aid represents a plus for refugees and Turkish host communities, noted the members of the Court, "its impact and sustainability are not yet ensured." The projects financed are experiencing numerous delays, and their sustainability is not assured. "In a challenging political context, the EU's Facility for Refugees in Turkey provided relevant support for refugees and host communities," said Bettina Jakobsen, a member of the Court and responsible for the audit. "But there could be more value for money and more impact, and it is far from certain what will happen with the projects in Turkey after EU aid runs dry."

The first tranche of funding had supported projects in the priority areas of humanitarian aid, education, municipal infrastructure and economic initiatives, and was originally due to run out in 2021. However, this deadline has now been extended to June 2025. Given the protracted nature of the Syrian crisis, the document explained, projects under the second tranche have increasingly focused on livelihood creation, projects whose implementation, like many others, was severely disrupted by the earthquake of February 6, 2023.

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