Aid Charity Swears Off E.U. Money to Protest Migrant Deal

Global aid group Doctors Without Borders says it will refuse all future funding from the European Union in protest of the bloc’s pact to return migrants landing on Greek islands to Turkey, writes The Wall Street Journal. The decision follows a May 13 open letter from the medical charity, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF, in that called the agreement with Turkey an “historic abdication of [the E.U.’s] moral and legal responsibilities.”

The E.U. said the agreement with Turkey is aimed at stemming the flow of migrants risking their lives on dangerous sea crossings and being forced to sleep in fields upon their arrival. MSF, which has mounted its own rescue missions on the Mediterranean, has long been critical of Europe’s response to the influx and accompanying humanitarian crisis. While its projects with in the union are self-funded, it received $17.6 million from the E.U. last year for work in Africa and South Asia.