The measure will allow access to EU funds for infrastructure, housing, equipment, employment, education, social inclusion, health, and childcare more quickly.Continue reading
The Hungarian government is urging greater contribution by the European Union to financial burdens linked to migration, the finance minister said on Wednesday.
Mihály Varga said on Facebook that Hungary had spent 600 billion forints (EUR 1.6bn) on protecting the southern border and 40 billion forints on managing the Ukrainian refugee situation.
The EU contribution covers only 2 percent of the costs, he added.
However, the finance minister’s comment comes on the heels of a recent decision of the Council of the EU which will allow the Member States to receive a total of EUR 3.5 billion (around 1,300 billion forints) more this year in order to facilitate the hosting of refugees fleeing Ukraine.
According to the Council’s statement, 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).
The 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.
In addition, the legislation introduces a cost per person, which will facilitate resource mobilization. This will allow member states to provide basic assistance to meet the basic needs of people displaced from Ukraine. The amendments aim to reduce pressure on Member States’ budgets to better manage the influx of refugees from Ukraine.
According to earlier information from the European Commission, the pre-financing for Hungary amounts to about 300 million euros, or about 110 billion forints. This would allow Hungary’s spending to date on hosting refugees from Ukraine to be completely covered by the EU.
Featured photo by Márton Mónus/MTI