EC proposes to amend 2022 EU budget to ensure support for people fleeing Ukraine
The European Commission (EC) said on April 22 that it was proposing to reinforce the EU’s 2022 budget with 99.8 million euro in commitments, while in parallel, the budget is being increased by 176 million euro of payments, including to help member states receiving people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The funds will be channelled through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI).
Making use of possibilities for redeployment, the total amount of funding to be made available for migration and border management is 400 million euro, the EC said.
The funds will help especially EU countries most affected to meet the first reception and registration costs of people fleeing Ukraine, the Commission said.
European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, in charge of Budget and Administration, said: “The EU budget keeps delivering on crisis-management.
“The reinforcement proposed today supports our most affected member states, making sure they have the resources to address the needs of those fleeing Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. This is yet another example of EU solidarity in action,” Hahn said.
The funds under AMIF will serve to ensure that people fleeing Ukraine can benefit from adequate first reception, food, shelter, sanitation, clothing, medicines, family tracing, legal and translation assistance, psycho-social and other specialised services leading to their registration in one of the member states, the EC said.
The statement said that the funds under BMVI will allow for the smooth application of procedures at, or near, the external borders, such as identification, fingerprinting, registration, security checks, medical and vulnerability screening of third country nationals, as well as for immediate reception needs throughout these procedures.
The EC’s April 22 proposal to amend the budget now needs to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states in the Council.
The statement said that the proposal forms part of the overall EC response to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and its consequences, for which the EU budget has been mobilised since Day 1.
The April 9 “Stand Up for Ukraine” global pledging event for refugees and internally displaced people helped gather 9.1 billion euro, of which one billion euro was pledged by the Commission, the EC said.
(Photo: EC Audiovisual Service)
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