Yahoo – AFP,
September 26, 2016
Ankara (AFP) - The European Union on Monday launched a scheme worth almost 350 million euros providing mainly Syrian refugees in Turkey with pre-paid debit cards, the biggest project yet under a landmark deal between the bloc and Ankara.
Ankara (AFP) - The European Union on Monday launched a scheme worth almost 350 million euros providing mainly Syrian refugees in Turkey with pre-paid debit cards, the biggest project yet under a landmark deal between the bloc and Ankara.
EU
Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides, in Ankara for the start of
the programme, said the debit cards will help give vulnerable refugees a
"sense of normality" in their lives.
The
refugees will be able to use the cards in shops or institutions to pay for
food, education, housing and clothing or also to withdraw cash from ATMs.
Each card
will be automatically topped up with 100 Turkish lira ($33.50) a month, giving
people the chance to choose their own purchases.
Stylianides
said the programme was an "unprecedented response" to an
"unprecedented crisis".
"This
(scheme) is, in our humanitarian field, a game-changer in the delivery of
humanitarian aid. Refugees can choose what they spend money on."
Turkey is
home to some three million refugees, most of them Syrian. The vast majority
live in cities without direct support from non-governmental organisations and
aid groups.
Supported
with 348 million euros ($392 million) from Brussels and its member states, the
scheme will be rolled out by Turkish Red Crescent and the UN World Food
Programme supported by the Turkish authorities.
Applications
will start in October for the scheme. Families who have children going to
school will receive more cash. All refugees registered in Turkey, including
Iraqis, are eligible to apply.
Stylianides
suggested that the programme would also benefit Turks.
"The
money will be spent in local shops, boosting local businesses and encouraging
social cohesion between citizens and refugees."
The project
is part of a six billion euro ($6.75 billion) deal struck in March between
Brussels and Ankara to curb the migrant influx into Europe, which saw more than
a million arrive in the EU last year.
There have
been fears the deal could collapse with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
complaining that the promised money was not handed directly to Turkey.
In exchange
for cutting the flow, Brussels also offered Turkey visa liberalisation for its
citizens to visit EU countries in the Schengen area as well as accelerated
membership talks.
But Ankara
has threatened to withdraw from the agreement if Europe does not allow
visa-free travel for Turks by next month, though the numbers coming to Europe
have dropped significantly since March.
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