EU’s Support to Refugees and Host Communities (FRIT)

Today, Turkey is both a transit and reception country for migrants and refugees. With over 4 million refugees, it currently hosts the highest number of refugees in the world. Since 2016, the international community has provided over €4 billion to assist Turkey in facilitating refugee access to the existing public services while strengthening the capacity and responsiveness of state institutions at the national and local levels.

As part of the EU response to refugee issue in Turkey, the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT) “FRIT Facility” was established in 2016 in order to support the implementation of the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan agreed on 29 November 2015 and the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016. The second tranche of FRIT Facility focuses on socio-economic support by enabling refugees and host communities to access sustainable livelihoods and employment opportunities in Turkey.

This should help the transition from dependency on social assistance schemes to increased independence and livelihood opportunities. With the implementation of the Formal Employment Creation Project and other programs under FRIT II, one of the main goals is to increase the contribution of The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) beneficiaries to the society that they live in by gradually lowering their reliance on social assistance and working for the development of the Turkish economy.