Germany, Poland, Czech seek EU money for Ukraine refugees

The leaders of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have signed a joint letter calling for the European Union to provide more funding for Ukrainian refugees on their respective territories, reported dpa.

"The refugees actually reside predominantly and in large numbers in just a few member states," the letter says.

"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."

The letter calls on the EU to help the three countries share the burden of supporting large numbers of displaced people who were forced to flee Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Prime Minister Petr 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 making a further contribution towards our joint endeavour to tackle these challenges, as well as towards European solidarity," the leaders write.

"We kindly ask you to put forward a proposal on this in the near future which 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 extending measures to ease residency rules for Ukrainians in the EU.