b'3.1.1. EU candidate countries - Pre-accession funding In A Budget for Europe 2020, the EU Commission allocated 11.7 billion for pre-accession funding for the period 2014- 2020.33 This is to be paid to candidate countries to prepare for EU membership. To quote the Commission: Socio-economic indicators show that enlargement countries are still well below the EU average and even below the level of the [current] weakest Member States. This low level of socio- economic development calls for substantial investments to bring these countries closer to EU standards.34 The status of Turkey as a candidate country has the consequence that Turkey is eligible for, and is the major beneficiary of EU pre- accession funding. From 2014-2019, the EU allocated 4.5 billion in financial assistance.35Table 19 Amount paid to Turkey in pre-accession fundsInstrumentPeriodEU allocationTurkey Pre-Accession Instrument2002-2006 1.3 billionIPAI2007-2014 4.8 billionIPAII2014-2020 4.5 billionSource: European Parliament Directorate-General for InternalPolicies, BudgetaryAffairs 2016 Moreover, an additional 11.3 billion in pre-that the EU would give Turkey an initial 3 accession funding is being allocated tobillion assistance package (this on top of EU candidate countries for the 2014-2020pre-accession funding) and an agreement budgetary period, of which Turkey will be thethat accession negotiations would resume.37major beneficiary.36 Alarmingly, Turkey also obtained a promise of visa-free travel - and this for a country with Should Turkey and the other countriesdirect and porous borders with Iran, Iraq and eventually not join the EU, these very largeSyria. sums will have been paid out for no purpose. The Turkish navy currently has 145 vessels; On 29 November 2015 in Brussels, in returnthis can be compared with the Royal Navys for Turkey controlling the flow of economic76.38 Of course, there are many reasons migrants and refugees, it was agreed, firstwhy the number of vessels is not a good44'