The European Union on Wednesday signed an agreement with Turkey to allocate 400 million euros ($431 million) from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for reconstruction work following the earthquakes that occurred last February.
The signing ceremony took place at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, with the participation of European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform Elisa Ferreira and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay.
In her speech, Ferreira expressed “sympathy on behalf of the European Commission to the people of Turkey”, especially “all those who have lost their homes or their loved ones”. She said:
The EU stands in solidarity with Türkiye and has pledged to deliver €1 billion of assistance. Today we are signing an agreement to deliver €400 million from the EU Solidarity Fund. In the history of this post-disaster relief instrument, this is the largest sum ever awarded to a candidate country. This is also the first time that Türkiye receives support from the Fund. This exceptional level of support is justified by the exceptional circumstances. When help is needed, Europe responds. Not just for Member States, but also for our neighbors.
Ferreira noted that EU officials have been working with Ankara since the twin disasters last February. She emphasised that the aim of the pledge is “to support, firstly, the repair of infrastructure, especially in the fields of health and education, as well as water and sanitation”. Ferreira added:
Second, the Fund will support temporary accommodation, including container cities. Third, preventive measures to secure infrastructure and protect cultural heritage.
Bozay expressed gratitude “for the unwavering support that the EU and its members have given in the aftermath of the earthquakes.”
We are also deeply touched by the solidarity of our European friends in assisting with recovery efforts in the earthquake-affected regions. We have prepared all the details of what we will do with this agreement.
The 6 February 2023 earthquakes in southern Turkey killed 53,537 people and injured more than 107,000 others. The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes occurred in 11 Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.
More than 14 million people have been affected in Turkey, as well as many others in northern Syria.
Meanwhile, the Turkish branch of Médecins du Monde (MdM), an international humanitarian organisation that aims to provide emergency and long-term medical assistance to the world’s most vulnerable people, appealed in a press release for continued assistance to meet the vast needs of the people affected by the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey.
Hakan Bilgin, founding president of MdM Turkey, noted:
Communities have demonstrated remarkable resilience against the disaster, yet people continue to grapple with exceedingly challenging circumstances.
In Hatay, one of the cities hardest hit by the earthquakes last year, MdM Turkey doctors provided 32,190 essential health consultations to 26,531 earthquake-affected individuals.
MdM provided over 425,321 health services to more than 200,000 people through mobile medical units, primary health care clinics and community centers, as well as case management and hygiene and maternity kits to earthquake-affected populations across Turkey and Syria.
