‘Local and national’ foundations receive EU grants: Hundreds of thousands of euros to TÜGVA and TÜRGEV
TÜGVA and TÜRGEV have taken another slice from the EU funds distributed through the National Agency. Under the EU grants distributed on 1 August, TÜGVA received 194,454 euros, while TÜRGEV was awarded 251,531 euros.
Founded in 2003 with pilot projects and becoming a full member of the EU Education and Youth Programmes on 1 April 2004, the Turkey National Agency has been the implementing body of EU programmes in Turkey since 2006.
With its mission to “implement EU programmes in the fields of education, youth and sports in the most effective way” and “ensure that citizens, institutions, and organisations make maximum use of the programmes,” the Agency soon became controversial. The distribution of the grants revealed that the largest share of the EU fund went to foundations and associations close to the government.
FUND PERFORMANCE
TÜGVA and TÜRGEV, which received hundreds of thousands of euros through the National Agency, maintained their funding performance in 2025. Known for their closeness to the government, the foundations secured their share from the grant package announced on 1 August.
A LARGE SLICE OF THE PIE
It was learned that TÜRGEV and TÜGVA benefited from the grants distributed on 1 August under the “Youth mobility for organisations with ERASMUS accreditation in the field of youth” programme. In this context, TÜRGEV was awarded 196,150 euros and TÜGVA 187,350 euros.
The foundations also received funding from the Agency under the “European Solidarity Corps Volunteering Projects.” Under these projects, TÜGVA received 7,104 euros and TÜRGEV 55,381 euros.
FUNDS FLOWING TO GOVERNMENT-LINKED FOUNDATIONS
EU funds distributed via the Türkiye National Agency, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exceed 1 million euros. Government-linked foundations and associations take the largest share of the funding through Erasmus projects and “Youth Mobility” projects. The amounts of grants received by some foundations and associations known for their closeness to the government from the National Agency between 2021 and 2024 are as follows:
· TÜGVA: 711,212 euros
· TÜRGEV: 420,237 euros
· Religious Affairs Foundation: 45,870 euros
· Bülbülzade Association: 161,850 euros
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled ‘Yerli ve milli’ vakıflara AB hibesi: TÜGVA ve TÜRGEV’e yüz binlerce avro, published in BirGün newspaper on August 12, 2025.
