An estimated 6 million Ukrainian refugees have fled across the border to neighbouring European countries since the start of ’'s war in Russia.
In this section of the Real Economy ’, we visit the Romanian ’ to see how the country is dealing with the large influx of Ukrainian refugees, and we talk with the Romanian Minister of Education about how they are helping refugee children to continue their education.
We also take a look at which EU funds help member states cope with the cost of this humanitarian emergency and ask if they are sufficient.
In a historic move, the EU has granted people fleeing the war in Ukraine’ the right to live and work in the European Union’ for up to three years.
In an effort to help EU governments, the EU has released several billion dollars of unused money into the regions of Europe’. This fund, known as the Adjustment Funds, also includes funding from the European Social Fund and the European Fund FEAD’, set up to help the poorest. These billions can now be spent on emergency assistance to Ukrainian refugees.
Prepared budget for peacetime
The money can be spent on temporary housing, food, blankets and clothing, as well as services such as psychological counseling, medical care and education. National governments can demand back money that has been spent since the beginning of the war.
There is also a €10 billion pandemic recovery fund known as REACT-EU. Member states have already been paid €3.5 billion, with the largest share being those hosting the most refugees.
Naomi Lloyd of Real Economy’ asked Joost Korte’ye, the European Commission's Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Participation, why funding is money reallocated from other budgets rather than fresh EU money to help deal with this crisis.
Korte, “2021The 7-year budget that started in ’ was made for peace, ” said. While “Biz was negotiating this budget, no one predicted a war in Avrupa’. I think it's fair to say that the budget we have right now is not really in line with the situation we find ourselves in. - ”
Underlining how quickly they released the money, the Director-General said: “European CommissionWhat ’ does is to use all the flexibility in the budget, all the margins. The European Union, where ’ has much more funding, is what we call harmonization funds.
"We strongly encouraged and encouraged member states to use the money that is still there, and we made it very easy to spend that money," “ concluded.
Korte explained why there is still unallocated money in the budget.
“In fact, it is possible for Member States to spend money within the scope of 2014-2020 programs until the end of 2023. So seven years is actually almost ten years. That's why there's still money out there in 2022’ as we speak today.”
He explained how governments, NGOs, ’s and charities can access the money.
“We pay to the bank account of the member state, and from now on it is up to the member state to make sure that the beneficiary receives the money that is actually due. And we're checking it out. In addition, Member States need to state very clearly who is responsible, where they should go and what the refund formalities are.”
The Great Difficulty
RomaniaUkrainian flags are seen everywhere on the streets of Bucharest as a sign of support and solidarity. Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, about 900,000 Ukrainians have entered Romania, and about ’ of children.
BucharestThe main railway station in ’ has been transformed into a center for refugees. Managing this influx is a major challenge for the country.
Ukrainian families are waiting in a specially prepared waiting room for the bus that will take them to the next stop, Germany’. The transport is organised by the Romanian charity ‘For Good’.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Alina and about twenty volunteers have been helping Ukrainian refugees.
Alina Dăscălescu, who is also the president of the association, said that they provide food, clothes, shoes and goods to young babies, always in search of financial support.
“Currently RomaniaWe plan to apply for special funds from ’, but in the near future we are looking for some funds from Europe’.”
Unprecedented crisis
Save the Children Romania helped build this facility. His coordinator, Leonardo Andreescu, says he has never faced such a major crisis before.
I don't think the Romanian authorities and the Romanian community as a whole will be able to deal with this situation for a long time unless we get some support from abroad.“
At the station, humanitarian organizations are working with local authorities to help and guide incoming refugees.
Maryna left Odessa ’ with her two children and three other family members, but said their journey had become too dangerous.
“ I was so afraid for my children, for my mother, for my sister, for all my relatives. Volunteers told us that there was a room here where we could eat, where our children could play. Children love this room, they play ball with volunteers, there are psychologists. They didn't want to leave, so we waited until the kids got a little emotionally better, ” says.
Vital help for children
Support from NGO ’s and government agencies is vital in helping child refugees. RomaniaAbout 80,000 people remain, including about 36,000 ’i children, out of the total number of Ukrainian refugees entering ’.
Anastasiia Konovalova, also a Ukrainian refugee, at an elementary school in Bucharest’, Romania's Ministry of Education, set up eight classes thanks to classes provided by ’.
“We currently have 264 children and close to 900’ on the waiting list. All these children came here because they needed education and they want to study Ukrainian. We're opening a new school next week and all the teachers here have been volunteering for two months, raising money for salaries through Go Fund Me, says ” proudly.
Alena Palesika arrived with her sons two months ago. The youngest comes here to school, study and at the same time play with other children.
“We are very pleased with our teachers and the team in general and we help them as much as we can. Romania, who helped us in these difficult times’ya, we are very grateful to this country and to all these people.”
Alena dreams of returning home, like Anastasiia, who organizes the reconstruction of her schools in Ukraine’.
‘Educated RomaniaHow does ’ help Ukrainian refugee children?
The Romanian government estimates that it has spent around 72 million euros in emergency aid since the start of the war, and that the end of the conflict is not on the horizon. Frontline countries like this think public finances are strained, but AB’ has some help.
The Romanian government has adapted the legislation early so that all Ukrainian refugee children can have exactly the same rights as Romanian children.
Romanian Education Minister Sorin Mihai Cîmpeanu explained how the country's education reform project, known as ‘Educated Romania’, was used to help Ukrainian children continue their education.
“RomaniaAt ’ we have a unique opportunity: The President-initiated “Educated Romania” project aims for a radical reform of the education system. We have a budget of €3.6 billion for education reform. The existence of this project means that we are able to offer better and more effective integration and support to Ukrainian children. EU funds available to us, including those outside of EU Commission collaborations and the recovery and resilience plan, are also sources of funding.”
Across Romania, there are professional teams ready to help integrate refugee children, he said.
At the “ provincial level, RomaniaWe have a working group of school inspectors, teachers and, most importantly, counselors in ’, because psychological counseling for these children is important.”
The biggest challenge in the current situation, especially for minors from conflict zones, is the lack of Romanian language skills, he says.
The only obstacle to overcome is the language barrier, so Romanian authorities are focusing their efforts on providing Romanian language lessons.“
