The leaders of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic have written a joint letter to the president of the European Commission to request greater financial support for hosting the lion’s share of refugees from Ukraine.
In the letter dated June 26, the three leaders, Poland’s Donald Tusk, Chancellor Olaf Scholtz of Germany and the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, argue that they bear a disproportionate burden.
"Our countries' capacities are strained: more than 50% of Ukrainian refugees who have entered the European Union live in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic," they wrote. “The uneven challenges for Member States within the EU are also evident in relation to the respective size of the population.”
In order for the three member states to receive more EU money, the proposal would have to come from the European Commission.
Bloomberg cited figures from data-gathering platform Statista showing that the total cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees between March 2022 and February 2024 reached €23.7 billion in Germany, €22.2 billion in Poland, and €5.8 billion in the Czech Republic.
The three leaders argued that the current situation is incompatible with the EU principle of burden sharing. Scholtz told journalists ahead of a Brussels summit on Thursday that the costs were “not clearly distributed” and that the EU should compensate for such expenses as living costs, vocational and language training. The German chancellor said these issues would be discussed at the meeting of the bloc’s 27 heads of government.
Since the Russian invasion, more than 18 million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland, according to Border Guard figures, with almost a million deciding to stay in the country. Meanwhile, over a million have settled in Germany and 340,000 in the Czech Republic.
An EU mechanism introduced shortly after the start of the war gave temporary protection to displaced Ukrainians and in late June it was extended for a further year, until March 4, 2026.
"Our countries' capacities are strained: more than 50% of Ukrainian refugees who have entered the European Union live in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic," they wrote. “The uneven challenges for Member States within the EU are also evident in relation to the respective size of the population.”
In order for the three member states to receive more EU money, the proposal would have to come from the European Commission.
Bloomberg cited figures from data-gathering platform Statista showing that the total cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees between March 2022 and February 2024 reached €23.7 billion in Germany, €22.2 billion in Poland, and €5.8 billion in the Czech Republic.
The three leaders argued that the current situation is incompatible with the EU principle of burden sharing. Scholtz told journalists ahead of a Brussels summit on Thursday that the costs were “not clearly distributed” and that the EU should compensate for such expenses as living costs, vocational and language training. The German chancellor said these issues would be discussed at the meeting of the bloc’s 27 heads of government.
Since the Russian invasion, more than 18 million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland, according to Border Guard figures, with almost a million deciding to stay in the country. Meanwhile, over a million have settled in Germany and 340,000 in the Czech Republic.
An EU mechanism introduced shortly after the start of the war gave temporary protection to displaced Ukrainians and in late June it was extended for a further year, until March 4, 2026.
Source: PAP, dpa, Bloomberg
More In Politics MORE...
