The statement was signed on behalf of Latvia by the Minister of Finance Jānis Reirs alongside his counterparts from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
In the communication, which you can read in the attachment to this story, Member States acknowledge that they face limited financial resources to assist Ukrainian refugees. Member States also point to problems in implementing Cohesion Policy projects due to supply chain difficulties, and other challenges.
At the same time, the Communication commends the EC for the initiatives it has already taken to support refugees (REACT-EU, CARE), but acknowledges that they do not in fact address the major challenges posed by the war in these Member States.
According to the Finance Ministry, the statement urges the EC to come up with additional solutions to these challenges and to propose concrete courses of action including extensions of funding periods and reduced funding ceilings for some projects.
"The EC is invited to seek flexibility in the EU's multi-annual budget to find additional funding for Member States facing the largest influx of Ukrainian refugees," said a Finance Ministry statement about the joint message.
