CHP deputy brings it to the Turkish Parliament: Millions of liras in EU funds flowed to jihadist association

While President and AKP Chairman Tayyip Erdoğan and government circles have targeted certain media organizations by claiming they 'receive funds,' it has emerged that millions of liras in EU funds have been transferred to foundations and associations with ties to religious sects and communities that are known for their proximity to the AKP.

TOTAL FUNDS 1 MILLION EUROS

According to the report by Mustafa Bildircin from BirGün; EU funds distributed through the Turkish National Agency, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have exceeded 1 million euros. It has emerged that the share of the funding pie received by foundations and associations close to the government through Erasmus projects and “Youth Mobility” projects is much larger than what has been reflected to the public.

The fact that SETA, which authored a report labeling international media organizations operating in Turkey as “fund-takers,” also received funds through the Turkish National Agency, constitutes the most striking example of what is happening.

TÜGVA, TÜRGEV, DIYANET FOUNDATION...

TÜGVA, where Bilal Erdoğan is a member of the High Advisory Board, received grants from the agency nine times in the 2021-2024 period. The total amount of the grant provided to TÜGVA was recorded as 711 thousand 212 euros.

TÜRGEV, whose management includes names such as Fatmanur Altun, Esra Albayrak, and Mevlüt Uysal, was also among the institutions that received grant support. It was stated that a total of 420 thousand 237 euros in grants were provided for five of TÜRGEV's projects.

The World Ethnosport Confederation, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son Bilal Erdoğan, also received thousands of euros in grants. It was learned that the foundation received 272 thousand 616 euros in grants from the agency within the scope of youth projects.

It was determined that the Diyanet Foundation received 45 thousand 870 euros in grant support within the scope of a project it carried out in 2021.

JIHADIST FOUNDATION ALSO ON THE LIST

It was learned that a grant was also given to the Bülbülzade Association, which operates out of Gaziantep and hosted meetings in 2013 that were reflected in the public eye as “meetings where calls for jihad were made.”

The Turkish National Agency (UA), which works under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is tasked with “executing European Union programs in the most effective way,” completed the grant allocation process for institutions and organizations with Erasmus accreditation in the field of youth on August 18. The detail of the Bülbülzade Education, Social, Health, Culture, Sports, Assistance and Solidarity Association on the list drew attention.

It was determined that 161 thousand 850 euros in grants were given to the Bülbülzade Association, which is one of the 281 foundations and associations that declared support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP before the June 24, 2018 General Elections.

It was reported that the grant given to the foundation, which organized meetings in Gaziantep in 2013 with individuals who came from Syria and were described as “dissident clerics,” and which issued a “call for jihad” in its final declaration, would be used in the field of youth mobility.

SETA IS ALSO ON THE LIST

SETA, which is known for its proximity to the government and is described in the public eye as “President Erdoğan's think tank,” also added its name to the list of organizations receiving hundreds of thousands of euros in grants from the Turkish National Agency. It was documented that the institution, which is controversial due to its work profiling journalists, was given 41 thousand 20 euros for its “Immigrant Adaptation” project and 250 thousand euros for its “Information and Data Security” project.

GRANT PROJECTS

Some of the projects of foundations known for their proximity to the government and which were given hundreds of thousands of euros in grants, which “qualified for the grant,” were listed as follows:

• Diyanet Foundation: Institutional Capacity Building for Youth-Oriented Studies

• TÜGVA: Capacity Building Through Digital Transformation in Youth NGOs

• TÜGVA: Development of NGO Operational Management System and Applications

• TÜRGEV: Development of NGO Operational Management System and Applications

ON THE PARLIAMENTARY AGENDA

The EU funds received by foundations and associations close to the government have also been brought to the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). Arguing that the government “handed over” EU funds to its “cronies,” CHP Deputy Yunus Emre asked the following with the request for Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan to answer:

• What are the amounts of funds and grants provided by the EU to the National Agency over the last five years, by year?

• Which associations and foundations were the funds and grants used by the National Agency allocated to, and in what amounts?