Romania is set to receive a considerable compensation amounting to €400 million from European funds. The payment, confirmed by Mihai Constantin, the spokesperson for the Romanian government, is designed to reimburse the country for the support it extended to Ukrainians who sought safety or passage through Romania amid the escalating conflict in Ukraine. This news was initially shared by news.ro.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs will oversee the management of the funds, in coordination with several other governmental entities.
The Romanian executive body has recently deliberated on a proposal that seeks to formalize the allocation of this significant financial aid package. The proposed ordinance would enable Romania to recuperate the costs associated with their humanitarian efforts towards Ukrainian refugees.
An expansion of the budgetary allocation from the EU's Human Capital Operational Programme 2014-2020 was sanctioned by the Romanian government to accommodate this. This enhancement, amounting to €400 million (1,985,520 thousand lei), would markedly lessen the financial strain on the national budget. The augmentation was made possible by reassigning savings from other projects under the same program and will complement provisions under Emergency Ordinance no. 113/2022.
Additionally, the government has introduced a fresh source of financing through an amendment to Emergency Ordinance no. 166/2022. The updated ordinance now incorporates the Administrative Capacity Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 period.
Of the total fund, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is poised to receive €118,427,000, which includes a direct contribution of €100 million from the European Union. These funds, derived from the non-reimbursable European coffers under the Human Capital Operational Programme 2014-2020, will be made accessible following a call for project proposals and the subsequent signing of a financing agreement between MIPE and MAI.
