The Third Beneficiary Steering Committee of the European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility II for the Western Balkans and Türkiye under the Multi-Country Programme was held on 7 June 2022 in Ankara

The Third Beneficiary Steering Committee of the European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility II (HF II) for the Western Balkans and Türkiye, which is one of the activities under the Multi-Country Programme, was held on 7 June 2022 in Ankara. In its capacity as NIPAC, the Directorate for EU Affairs manages the implementation of the Multi-Country Programme in Türkiye. The opening speeches of the meeting were held by Ms. Çağrı ÇAKIR, Head of Department for Political Affairs; Ms. Verena TAYLOR, Director of the Office of the Directorate General of Programme of the Council of Europe; and Mr. ALEXANDER FRICKE, Head of Operational Section-1 Civil Society, Fundamental Rights, Judiciary and Home Affairs of the Delegation of the EU to Türkiye.

Representatives of the beneficiary institutions, Delegation of the EU to Türkiye, Council of Europe, civil society organizations, academics and all relavant stakeholders have participated to the meeting.

During the meeting, recent developments on the ongoing and completed actions under the Horizontal Facility programme were shared by the beneficiary ınstitutions. Participants have exchanged views concerning the implementation process. The actions financed under HF II are;

• Supporting the implementation and reporting on the Action Plan on Human Rights in Türkiye (completed)
• Strengthening the human rights protection of asylum seekers, migrants and victims of human trafficking in Türkiye (ongoing)
• Fostering women’s access to justice in Türkiye (ongoing)

During the meeting, the Head of the Department forPolitical Affairs Ms. Çağrı ÇAKIR focused on the complementary aspect of projects implemented under the Türkiye-EU Financial Cooperation and the Horizontal Facility programme as well as their impact on Türkiye’s accession process. At the conclusion of the meeting, EU Affairs Expert Ms. Şefkat UTSUKARÇİ TULUN has made an overall assessment regarding the actions under the Horizontal Facility II programme.