Bulgaria Extends Assistance to Ukrainian Refugees
The Bulgarian government has decided to extend the humanitarian aid programme for refugees from Ukraine until 30 April 2024, The Sofia Globe reports.
The humanitarian aid scheme provides for state payments to places of accommodation for people who have fled the war in Ukraine and received temporary protection in Bulgaria in accordance with a European Commission directive.
According to the official government portal - although this data has not been updated for several weeks - 2,133,450 Ukrainians have entered Bulgaria since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, of whom 52,125 remain in Bulgaria.
A total of 171,571 people have registered for temporary protection in Bulgaria. According to the portal, 6,919 of them are accommodated under the state programme.
The programme of support for Ukrainian refugees has been changed and extended several times and, according to a previous government decision, was due to end on 31 December 2023.
Earlier it was reported that the EU expects the number of asylum applications in the EU countries to exceed one million in 2023. In October alone, the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) registered about 123,000 applications, the highest monthly figure in seven years. Germany became the leader in terms of applications among EU countries in October. It filed 27% of all applications, which is more than France and Italy combined, which rank second and third.
Earlier, the European Commission decided to allocate more than €65 million from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to support Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania in accepting people fleeing Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania can use the funding from the EU budget to help newly arrived Ukrainians find accommodation, language and vocational training, as well as access to social and healthcare services.
The EU countries received additional funds as a result of a targeted call for proposals to help countries reduce migration pressure and provide newly arrived Ukrainians with the necessary support, services and assistance.
The European Commission has reported that EU countries have taken in more than 4.1 million Ukrainians who enjoy temporary protection, which was first introduced shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has now been extended until March 2025.