Prague said on Thursday that nine Central and Eastern European countries would request financial assistance from the EU this month to offset the cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees.
More than five million people have fled war-torn Ukraine since the Russian invasion in late February, with the majority crossing the border into Poland.
Neighboring countries have also taken in refugees, including the Czech Republic, which has issued 300,000 temporary visas to Ukrainians since the conflict began.
its final impact on our economies, “said Czech Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartos.
Therefore, we need to ask for additional funds for EU members large numbers of Ukrainian refugees “.
These countries, all EU members, are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Baltic Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The statement did not say what specific amount they would ask for by the end of the month.
