Politics

EU: Tight schedules in Brussels and Strasburg. Refugee crisis in Turkey, “State of the Union” after Brexit

(Brussels) Burning atmosphere in Brussels: internal and external challenges are increasing, in the same way as the agendas of Council, Commission and Parliament. Yesterday, Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianidesha announced the EU urgent aid programme, “the most ambitious ever”, to meet the daily needs of refugees in Turkey. The programme called “Emergency Social Safety Net” (348 million euros) “will be managed by the World Food Programme in collaboration with the emergency and catastrophe management authority” of the Turkish prime minister, and with the Turkish Red Crescent. “It is the largest humanitarian programme ever, using direct money transfer to face the daily needs of the most vulnerable families of refugees in Turkey – says the Commission. The social safety net is given 348 million euros by the EU and its member States under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey; it is an aid scheme to reach out one million refugees in Turkey”. On Wednesday, 14 September, President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker will illustrate the “State of the Union” in Strasburg, at the European Parliament. In the meantime, the talks of Donald Tusk (European Council) with a view to the summit in Bratislava on 16 September for the future of the Union after Brexit are going on.