The EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis will provide a new €139 million assistance package to help refugees fleeing the war in Syria and their overstretched host communities. The new tranche also includes €50 million for Iraq, which will cover a multi-project action aimed at fostering socio-economic opportunities towards stabilization. The program will significantly scale up the EU’s contribution to stabilizing Iraq especially in areas liberated from Da’esh so that displaced populations can return to their homes.
The program’s main focus is on jobs creation and improving people’s livelihoods. The package for Lebanon includes €62 million to finance a health program for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese populations to increase access to quality, equitable and affordable health care services and €20 million aimed at Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program for Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities. The package also includes almost €7 million to support alternative investment sources for Jordan and Lebanon as well as financing for a multi-tierexternal monitoring and evaluation mechanism to continuously check the performance of the EU Trust Fund in real time.
Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, commented that “we are delivering on our commitment to support refugees and host communities across the region. With this new package we are well on track to meet our ambitious target to mobilize €1 billion for the EU Syria Trust Fund and – with the latest contributions and pledges from our Member States and the EU budget – I expect we shall actually exceed €1.2 billion by early 2017. This funding will secure better healthcare, education and economic opportunities for those affected by the Syrian conflict, bringing more stability to the region and beyond”.
