EU Minister Bozkır: Ankara did not demand extra 2 billion euros from EU

EU Minister Volkan Bozkır denied allegations that Ankara demanded an extra 2 billion euros in addition to the 3 billion euros that it was promised in line with signing the EU's Refugee Action last October, which aims to control the flow of migrants from Turkey to the EU.

Last Saturday, German daily Die Welt claimed that Ankara demanded considerably more money from the EU than was previously agreed on to help improve conditions for refugees in the country, "Ankara now wants 5 billion euros, but we are prepared only to give the promised 3 billion euros," an EU diplomat reportedly told the paper. Bozkır denied the allegation while speaking to a group of journalist during his official visit to Paris on Wednesday and said that there is no such bargaining with the EU. "I would like to emphasize that the claims that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu requested an extra 2 billion euros during his meetings in Berlin in recent weeks is completely untrue," he said.

Bozkır said that after Italy drops its objections to dispersing the 3 billion euro EU fund to help Ankara tackle the migration crisis, it will be ready before the end of February and that the fund will be used strictly for projects aimed at improving conditions for refugees in the country. "Let me repeat once again. These funds will be used for refugees only, not for building a bridge or a motorway in some other place in Turkey," he insisted.

Giving detailed information about the mechanism to allocate the EU fund for refugees, Bozkır said: "There is a coordination mechanism about how to use this EU fund. This mechanism is led by Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan along with all the other relevant ministers such as the health, national education, finance ministers and even other state holders like AFAD [Emergency Management and Coordination Authority] and Red Crescent will attend these coordination committee meetings and will check the necessities of refugees and decide on their list of needs. It might be about a new refugee camp or school or hospital. As a next step the mechanism will decide what the needs are and the required money will be allocated from the EU fund," he said.