Turkey, EU Work to Speed Up Allocation of Funds to Ankara Under Refugee Deal

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said that current procedures implemented within the legal framework of a migrant deal between Ankara and the European Union could result in the situation when the rest of EU funds could be allocated in a year or even in a 2-year period.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkey and the European Union are working on accelerating the transfer of EU money for the Syrian refugees within the framework of a migrant deal between Ankara and the 28-nation bloc, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said.

"We are now working on it," Kaynak said Monday, as quoted by the Hurriyet Daily News newspaper, speaking about the activities of Ankara and Brussels aimed at speeding up money allocation.

He added that current procedures implemented within the legal framework could result in the situation when the rest of EU funds could be allocated in a year or even in a 2-year period.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries of origin in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty.

In March, Brussels and Ankara worked out and agreed on a deal, under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants that had arrived to the European Union in exchange for Syrian refugees on a one-for-one basis. In return, the European Union pledged to provide a total of 3 billion euros ($3.13 billion at the current exchange rates) to Turkey for dealing with refugees, with a possible further 3 billion-euro provision, accelerate Turkey's EU accession process and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and Europe.

Since then both sides have repeatedly criticized each other for the slow implementation of the accord.