European Union ambassadors approved Wednesday 149.6 million euros ($174 million) in extra funding for Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The financial support will extend the bloc's multipurpose cash assistance program that provides monthly transfers for the most vulnerable refugees in the country, the Council of the European Union wrote in a press release.
The scheme, officially named the Emergency Social Safety Net, is the biggest humanitarian program in the bloc's history that has been helping 1.8 million refugees to cover essential needs of rent, bills, food and medicine.
The additional 149.6 million euros will be financed from the remaining margin of the 2021 budget.
The budgetary amendment has yet to be approved by the European Parliament.
Turkey is the largest host country for Syrian refugees, providing protection to nearly 4 million people who fled the neighboring country.
"It is important that we continue to support Turkey, with 3.7 million Syrian refugees living there, some of whom have been in Turkey for 10 years," von der Leyen told reporters on a visit to Berlin.
A similar call also came from German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as he urged the EU to update its migrant deal with Turkey, highlighting the importance of further funding.
“We need an update to our migration cooperation with Turkey,” Maas told Die Welt newspaper in comments.
