The leaders of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have signed a joint letter calling on the European Union to make more money available for Ukrainian refugees on their territory.
“The refugees actually reside predominantly and in large numbers in only a few Member States,” the letter said.
“The capacities of our countries are under pressure: more than 50% of Ukrainian refugees who have entered the European Union live in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.”
The letter calls on the EU to help the three countries share the burden of supporting large numbers of displaced people forced to flee Ukraine following Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022.
German Chancellor Olaf ScholzPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Prime Minister Peter Fiala write that they need more money from the EU budget. Under EU rules, any proposal for new funding would have to come from the European Commission.
“We would be grateful if the European Commission could take appropriate steps to this end, thus further contributing to our shared efforts to tackle these challenges and to European solidarity,” the leaders wrote.
“We kindly request that you make a proposal in this regard as soon as possible that can be implemented in a timely manner.”
At the same time, Scholz, Tusk and Fiala also use their letter “to expressly thank the European Commission for its efforts so far,” such as expanding measures to relax residence rules for Ukrainians in the EU.
