The Czech Republic will receive €27.4 million from EU funds to help refugees from Ukraine, the European Commission has confirmed.
Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania will also receive financial aid with the total amount being released from the Home Affairs fund by the European Commission totaling €248 million.
The funding is primarily intended to be used for food, transportation, and accommodation costs for non-EU nationals fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the latest U.N. figures, 6.4 million people have fled Ukraine during the conflict, most of whom have taken refuge in EU countries, by far the most in Poland with a current total of 3.4 million. Just shy of 1 million have now been registered in Romania, 626,000 have claimed asylum in Hungary, and almost 350,000 have flocked to Czechia for safety.
More money to come later
In April, the Commission pledged a total of €400 million to the countries most affected by the refugee wave. It is now distributing the first part of the money among five states. More than half of the total €248 million will go to Warsaw which will receive €144.6 million.
The EU executive wants to release the remaining part of the €400 million after the member states and MEPs approve the plan.
Brussels has already allowed the EU states to use the unspent money from the ending 7-year budget period to help solve the refugee wave. However, according to government officials, the figure was insufficient for Czechia which has already used or tied up most of the funds.
Czechia was, therefore, among the ten countries whose governments asked the Commission for further assistance in early May. The countries suggested using extraordinary reserves from the EU budget or greater flexibility in managing subsidies earmarked for individual states in the cohesion funds.
