EU signs €400M deal with Türkiye for post-earthquake recovery

The European Union has signed an agreement with Türkiye on a €400 million ($431 million) grant from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to finance recovery operations following the devastating twin earthquakes that hit the country last February.

The signing ceremony was held on Wednesday at the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, with the attendance of European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay.

In a speech, Ferreira expressed "sympathy on behalf of the European Commission with the people of Türkiye," especially "all who lost their homes or their loved ones." "The EU stands in solidarity with Türkiye and has pledged to deliver €1 billion of assistance," Ferreira said.

"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," she added.

Ferreira noted that EU officials have been working with Ankara since the twin disasters took place in February last year, saying the pledge aims to "support first the repair of infrastructure, especially in the fields of health and education, but also in water and wastewater."

"Second, the Fund will support temporary accommodation, including container cities," she said, adding, "Third, preventive measures to secure infrastructure and protect cultural heritage."

The commissioner also said the European Commission is "prepared to provide further guidance and support during the implementation period."

Pledge 'goes beyond financial value'

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister expressed gratitude "for the unwavering support the EU and its members provided 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," he said.

Describing the deal as "a landmark development" among similar pledge efforts, Bozay said, however, that "considering the scale of the devastation, the amount to be released in this agreement will cover only a tiny fraction of our extensive reconstruction efforts."

He also underscored that the "significance" of the pledge "goes beyond its financial value." "It symbolizes the EU's solidarity with us, with Türkiye," he said, noting that "the allocated funds…are intended for various purposes, including the construction of schools and hospitals in the affected areas as well as the restoration of structures in cultural heritage."

The earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye on February 6, 2023, killed a total of 53,537 people and injured more than 107,000 others.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

More than 14 million people were affected in Türkiye and many others in northern Syria.