EU and international donors pledge €7bn in post-quake aid for Turkey and Syria

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday announced that the EU and the international community had pledged €7 billion ($7.5 billion) in post-earthquake aid for Turkey and Syria at the end of a day-long donor conference in Brussels.

“I think this is a very strong signal,” Ms von der Leyen told reporters.

This includes €6.05 billion in grants and loans for Turkey and €950 million in grants for Syria, according to a statement by the EU Commission. Pledges from the EU represented more than 50 per cent of the total.

The EU Commission alone, which co-hosted the donor conference with the Swedish presidency, pledged €1.1 billion for Turkey.

The EU's lending arm, the European Investment Bank, will also provide €500 million for Turkey, suspending an almost-total ban on financing for Turkey after a row over oil and gas drilling off Cyprus nearly four years ago.

The 7.8-magnitude February 6 earthquake and its aftershocks killed more than 48,000 in Turkey and close to 6,000 in neighbouring Syria.

The total cost of the damage incurred in Turkey is estimated at $103.6 billion — the equivalent to 9 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) — said vice-president of strategy and budget at the Turkish presidency, Kutluhan Taskin.

Speaking via video link, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said international financial help was crucial for the country’s recovery.

“It’s impossible for any country regardless of its economic state to cope with a disaster of this scope alone,” he said. “Our real struggle starts now. We will reconstruct and revive all our cities destroyed in the earthquake.”

“The pledges made today will definitely contribute to our recovery and reconstruction efforts,” said Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, who attended the conference.

Asked whether Turkey and Syria were normalising relations, Mr Cavusoglu said there was engagement between the two countries, not normalisation. Turkey backs rebel groups that control north-west Syria.

“We are planning a meeting at a foreign ministry level and the main purpose of all these meetings is to go in an engagement with the Syrian administration,” Mr Cavusoglu told reporters.

No Syrian government officials were present because the EU has no diplomatic relations with Damascus since the start of the 2011 civil war. The EU will not finance rebuilding efforts in the war-scarred country.

An EU official on Monday reaffirmed the bloc's stance that it would not reopen diplomatic channels with Syria or lift sanctions until a political end to the conflict was negotiated at a UN level.

The Syria Campaign in Brussels. Photo: The Syria Campaign

Estimates of the aid needed for post-earthquake Syria vary between $7.9 billion — a World Bank assessment — and $14.8 billion — a UN assessment — said Mustafa Benlamlih, interim UN resident co-ordinator and humanitarian co-ordinator in Syria.

“The next 24 months are crucial. We need both life sustenance and early recovery,” he said.

While international rescue teams and aid flowed quickly to Turkey, humanitarian organisations faced major hurdles reaching stricken areas in northern Syria, which is still a war zone.

UN investigators last week called for an independent investigation into the failure of the international community, the UN and the Syrian government to help people in the region in the days following the earthquake.

Their criticism was echoed by human rights organisation The Syria Campaign, which set up a billboard on a lorry outside the building where the donor conference was held in Brussels that read: “Investigate UN Earthquake Aid Failures Now” and “The Failed Earthquake Response Cost Syrian Lives.”

“We’re asking why the UN, the EU and international donors missed the critical window to bring life-saving aid into Syria after the earthquake,” Rebecca Falcon, campaign manager at The Syrian Campaign, told The National. “It looks like a failure of decision-making.”

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400m Olympic running track
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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat

While you're here

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

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