New Directions for European Assistance in Turkey

Executive Summary

Recent political developments in Turkey and its surrounding region pose challenges for the kind of cooperation programs that European aid donors operate inside Turkey. This report examines how European donors are reacting to the evolving political and security context in and around Turkey and provides thoughts on how they should reorientate their aid programs.

Of course, much has been written on the recent macro-level shifts in EU-Turkey relations. Many articles and reports have examined the general impact of increased regional refugee and migration flows in 2015 and 2016 on EU-Turkey relations. It is well established that since the dramatic aborted coup attempt of July 2016, EU-Turkey relations have faced additional challenges. In high-level political debates, most focus has been on the question of whether the EU is likely to slow or interrupt accession talks with Turkey. And, the general situation regarding the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), Kurdish issues, and the Syrian conflict have also been high on the diplomatic agenda and exhaustively covered in the press and think tank analysis.