Conditions of utmost concern in removal centres in Turkey - Hoofdinhoud

The conditions in Turkish removal centres for refugees are very worrying. At least twelve of these centres received funding from the EU. Therefore, the EU bears responsibility for the human rights violations in these centres.

Kati Piri asked the European Commission for clarification on the situation in a written question:

Concerns have been raised about the conditions in Turkish removal centres, in which refugees are held. According to reports, refugees in these centres are systemically neglected, intimidated and abused.

The EU has funded at least twelve of these removal centres as part of its pre-accession funding to Turkey in 2010 and 2015. Furthermore, a total of 6 billion EUR was allocated to Turkey by the EU as part of the EU-Turkey deal in 2016. Part of this funding is allocated to removal centres. The EU bears in this sense clear responsibilities vis-à-vis hosted refugees, European citizens and taxpayers and Turkish authorities.

Can the Commission indicate the exact amount of EU funding allocated to the Turkish removal centres per year since the start of the EU-Turkey deal in March 2016? Is the Commission aware of said conditions? And what actions will the Commission undertake to address this situation?