The European Union has spent over €1 billion (over $1.1 billion) to host Ukrainian refugees and integrate them into the bloc's job market and welfare system, the European Commission's new report revealed on Tuesday.
The European Commission's Special Adviser for Ukraine Lodewijk Asscher presented his report "Integration of people fleeing Ukraine in the EU" at a news conference in Brussels, Belgium's capital.
According to the document, €1.097 billion from the EU's cohesion funds "were reprogrammed to address the situation" created by the mass influx of Ukrainian asylum-seekers, notably to provide them with accommodation, education, and social support, as well as integrate them into the labor market.
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told reporters that 16 million Ukrainians have entered the EU since the beginning of the war in February 2022.
"(Whereas) 11 million went back (to Ukraine), 1 million continued to other countries, mainly to the UK and the U.S." since then, she explained.
Currently, 4 million Ukrainians stay in the EU, Johansson added.
She confirmed that "there is a huge pressure on some member states" as they must integrate Ukrainians into their society and job market.
Both Poland and Germany host 1 million Ukrainians, while Estonia and the Czech Republic have even higher per capita ratios, she added.
"More than 1.3 employment contracts have been signed with people from Ukraine" even though many of them work in jobs that require lower education levels and skills than they actually have, EU Commissioner for Jobs Nicolas Schmit asserted.
