EU auditors yesterday said that Turkish officials have refused to provide information that would help establish whether 1.1 billion euros (US$1.24 billion) in EU refugee aid money is being properly spent.
The auditors said in a new report that the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy declined access to the names, identification numbers and addresses of people who benefited from two EU cash assistance projects.
The projects include a system whereby refugees can withdraw about 30 euros in cash from prepaid cards to help meet their needs.
The ministry cited data protection laws as the reason for not providing the information, the auditors said adding that it is “very rare” for the European Court of Auditors to be denied access to documents.
“Neither the [European] Commission nor the European Court of Auditors was able to track the project beneficiaries from their registration to the payment,” chief court reporter Bettina Jakobson said.
“This is a serious situation,” she said. “Normally as an auditor you would say you would like to follow the flow of money from the cradle to the grave. We cannot do that here.”
“There is a risk” that not all the money is reaching the refugees, Jakobson said.
EU countries in 2016 agreed to give Turkey at least 3 billion euros in Syrian refugee aid money and other incentives to persuade Ankara to stop refugees from leaving for Greece.
The bloc said that if the money was properly used it could provide a further 3 billion euros in assistance.
About 3.5 million Syrian refugees have been estimated to be on Turkish territory.
The EU has hailed the agreement with Turkey as a great success, as it has helped slash refugee arrival numbers. However, many refugees are still languishing in terrible conditions on Greek islands.
The bloc wants to replicate versions of the agreement with countries in northern Africa as it seeks to stop refugees from setting out on dangerous voyages in rickety boats across the Mediterranean Sea.
Asked whether the EU refugee money in Turkey has been well spent, Jakobson said: “I think so, yes, but of course we could have had more value for money.”
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