Ukraine: EU countries to receive €3.5 billion in additional pre-financing for hosting refugees

In order to facilitate the hosting of refugees fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian aggression, the Council adopted a legislative act making available an additional €3.5 billion in total this year, which member states will receive based on the numbers of refugees arriving from Ukraine.

The Act introduces changes to increase pre-financing under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU), one of the largest post-pandemic recovery programs, to reinforce cohesion policy funds and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).

Specifically, pre-financing to be paid from REACT-EU in 2022 will increase from 11% to 15% for all member states, and from 11% to 45% for EU countries where the number of arrivals from Ukraine was greater than 1% of their population at the end of the first month following the Russian invasion.

To simplify the mobilization of funds, the act also introduces the option of a unit cost per person, making it possible to meet the basic needs of displaced persons from Ukraine more effectively and provide them with basic assistance.