The European Union (EU) is facing challenges in assessing the effectiveness of its financial assistance to Turkey, intended to support Syrian refugees. Auditors from the European Court of Auditors (ECA) have expressed their inability to determine the actual impact of the billions of euros provided to Turkey under a 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey.
Under this agreement, the EU committed to providing at least $6.4 billion to Turkey to assist in managing the influx of migrants crossing from Syria. Turkey, in turn, agreed to prevent migrants from leaving its territory for Europe. This deal was hailed in Europe as a successful approach to the refugee crisis.
In 2021, the EU leaders announced plans to allocate an additional $3.2 billion for refugees in Turkey. The funds from this agreement are utilized to provide cash assistance to registered refugees, improve access to education and healthcare, facilitate their integration, and establish essential facilities for those fleeing the conflict in Syria.
However, the ECA’s follow-up assessment revealed that Turkey’s education ministry withheld crucial information, preventing the auditors from evaluating the impact of EU-funded education projects. ECA member Bettina Jakobsen emphasized that European citizens expect tangible results from the EU’s investments in humanitarian and development projects.
The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, reported that at least $566 million was allocated for “support[ing] quality inclusive education of refugees in Turkey.” This funding aims to cover teacher salaries, educational materials, Turkish language instruction, teacher training, counseling, and other support services.
The auditors requested specific data, including a list of schools receiving EU support, the number of refugee students attending, and information on the reintegration of previously out-of-school children into the educational system. They also sought data on exam pass rates for both refugee and Turkish students.
Without access to this data, Jakobsen stated, “we are not able to conclude on measuring impact or sustainability” of EU-funded education initiatives. When asked by The Associated Press about the obstacles faced by auditors in obtaining information from the education ministry, an EU auditor involved in the process simply stated, “They just claimed that they didn’t have the data.”
The auditor also highlighted that such data should typically be available. However, it is not within the auditors’ purview to speculate on the reasons behind the ministry’s reluctance to provide the requested information.
It is noteworthy that instances of authorities refusing to cooperate with auditors are relatively uncommon. Both auditors and commission officials sought the necessary information through joint and individual requests, but their efforts proved unsuccessful.
Despite the challenges, the auditors were able to visit schools and hospitals benefiting from EU funding and observed that these facilities were indeed being utilized by both refugees and Turkish individuals. They acknowledged that the EU funding package provided “relevant support to refugees and host communities” in Turkey, particularly in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the major earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February 2023, and Turkey’s soaring inflation.
However, Jakobsen also pointed out weaknesses in the commission’s assessment of project budgets and emphasized the lack of systematic evaluations of whether project costs were reasonable or comparable across different projects.
