Refugees from Ukraine play chess at the Humanitarian Aid Center set up at the Global Expo exhibition hall in Warsaw on July 15, 2022. [Photo/Agencies]  

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Feb 24, millions of refugees from Ukraine have crossed borders into neighboring countries or moved farther westward, with Europe now experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. 

As of June 29, over 3.6 million refugees from Ukraine had registered for a temporary protection mechanism or similar national protection program in Europe, according to data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

The vast majority of refugees fleeing Ukraine are elderly people, women and children, as well as Syrian refugees who had fled to Ukraine several years ago. According to UNHCR data, over 1.98 million Ukrainian refugees are currently in European Union countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland remains the country that has taken the highest number of refugees from Ukraine, hosting over 1.19 million refugees, followed by the Czech Republic (more than 380,000), Bulgaria (over 118,000), Slovakia (over 79,000), Lithuania (around 58,000), Romania (over 40,000), Latvia (over 34,000), Estonia (over 28,000), Hungary (over 25,800), Croatia (over 15,000), and Slovenia (around 6,860). The 11 EU countries in Central and Eastern Europe have together hosted more than 55 percent of all refugees from Ukraine. 

Although most Ukrainian refugees only pass through Central and Eastern European countries or briefly stop over before moving on to other EU countries, the sudden mass influx of refugees has posed a huge challenge for governments and society of CEE countries. All governments, under the support of EU mechanisms, have used domestic resources and mobilized the public and the entire society to demonstrate hospitability and enthusiasm toward Ukrainian refugees in dire need of help. 

The Chinese communities in some Central and Eastern European countries have also made generous donations and offered help to Ukrainian refugees. 

The EU's various supporting mechanisms have been central to CEE countries' capacity in hosting millions of refugees from Ukraine. On March 4, the EU activated the Temporary Protection Directive, which aims to alleviate pressure on national asylum systems of EU member countries and allows displaced people to enjoy harmonized rights across the EU－including residence, access to the labor market and housing, medical assistance, social welfare assistance and access to education for children. The temporary protection will last for at least one year and up to three years. 

The EU has been offering financial support for member states hosting refugees. In April, the EU approved three regulations unlocking more than 20 billion euros ($20.3 billion) in funds, which will ensure that member states hosting refugees have sufficient resources to meet the growing needs for housing, education and healthcare. Also in April, the Council of the EU adopted a regulation, the Cohesion' Action for Refugees in Europe, which allows for the swift release and reallocation of cohesion policy funding. The EU's cohesion policy aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion by reducing disparities in the level of development between regions. 

EU member states can use a total of up to 9.5 billion euros of funds that are still not programmed under the 2022 portion of the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe, REACT-EU. They can also use all unallocated resources under the 2014-20 period (around 7 billion euros). Also in April, the Council of the EU approved a regulation allowing for the immediate disbursement of an additional 3.5 billion euros, under REACT-EU, to EU countries welcoming refugees. 

Immediately after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, Central and Eastern European countries neighboring on Ukraine started to host a mass influx of displaced people from Ukraine and other countries fleeing the conflict. In early March, many CEE countries, such as Latvia, Slovakia and Bulgaria, approved laws granting temporary protection to displaced people, providing a framework for hosting refugees. The Polish Parliament also approved laws on hosting Ukrainian refugees. 

Refugees from Ukraine enjoy quasi-citizenship across CEE countries, which is in line with the principles of EU directives. 

In Poland, Ukrainian refugees have been granted the right to obtain a Polish national identity number, and authorities have established a program to provide 270 euros a month to households for each Ukrainian refugee they shelter for two months. 

The Czech Republic, with the second-highest number of refugees from Ukraine, has streamlined a process to issue emergency visas to Ukrainian refugees. It estimates that a total of 1.33 billion euros is needed to address the ongoing refugee crisis. The Czech Republic has recently taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and has vowed to make coping with the refugee crisis its first priority. 

Bulgaria's one-year temporary protection regime for Ukrainian refugees took effect on Feb 24, earlier than the rollout of EU programs. In Slovakia, refugees from Ukraine can take public transportation for free and have minimum standard living expenses covered. As of the beginning of July, 1.45 million Ukrainian refugees had entered Romania, but most of them have moved farther westward to Western European countries. Romania has set up 1,238 refugee centers and allowed domestic universities to increase enrollment by 20 percent to provide convenience for refugee students. Latvia has set up assistance centers in Riga, wherein Ukrainian refugees have access to affordable housing, job opportunities and medical and social assistance. 

In addition, Ukrainian refugees can enter Croatia by presenting a passport or other ID card at the border. The government of Croatia has set up three refugee affairs centers to provide services for Ukrainian refugees and offered free public transportation, school lunches and use of sports facilities to Ukrainian children. 

Hosting refugees requires a large amount of money, and financial support from the EU is not enough to cover all countries' actual needs. Central and Eastern European countries are currently confronted with financial risks amid economic plight, and their negotiations with the EU over increasing support will continue. 

Jia Ruixia，Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of European Studies,  Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.   

The article was originally published in  China Daily Global on July 27, 2022. The article has been authorized.