25 million TL fund from EU

Turkey’s European Union Ministry yesterday organized an informative meeting in Istanbul about a grant program it has recently launched, which allocates 25 million TL (10.5 million euros) to media institutions and non-governmental organizations in order to promote dialogue between civil society in the EU and Turkey. The program, which is divided into a “Political Criteria Grant Program” and a “Media Grant Program,” will finance Turkey and common projects by EU media institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in two domains. Introducing the program in Istanbul, Bagis stated that huge progress has been made in such areas as human rights, democracy, rule of law and fight against discrimination with regard to political criteria in the last two decades. Stating that the resolution process could not be considered apart from the EU membership process, Bagis also invited NGOs and media institutions to contribute to the process with joint projects with EU. The deadline for submission to the Political Criteria Program is July 5, while media grant program submissions can be made until July 12.