Following Parliament’s green light to redirect EU regional and asylum funding to EU countries sheltering people fleeing from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the last plenary session, MEPs adopted additional urgent support measures.

With 549 votes to one and eight abstentions, Parliament agreed to immediately release around €3.4 billion (out of €10 billion available) from the “REACT-EU” funds and speed up EU governments’ access to funds to pay for infrastructure, housing, equipment, employment, education, social inclusion, healthcare and childcare for refugees.

The new rules will increase the initial pre-financing of REACT-EU resources from 11% to 15% to all EU countries. EU countries bordering Ukraine (Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) and those that have received a significant number of refugees from Ukraine equivalent to more than 1% of their national population (Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia and Estonia) can immediately get 45% (rather than 11%) of…