A new wave of refugees from Ukraine: Is the EU prepared, and how many Ukrainians can its countries accept?

Author

Olga Krotovska

As the situation in Ukraine gets worse due to Russia targeting the energy infrastructure, European countries step up their preparation for a new wave of Ukrainian refugees. Currently, there is no significant flood of asylum seekers from Ukraine in the EU, but the situation may change in the winter, VisitUkraine.today writes.

Which countries are ready to take in Ukrainian refugees, and how many of them?

Slovakia. The government has already developed a contingency plan. The country is prepared to accommodate up to 700,000 Ukrainians in its territory within a three-month period.
Hungary. The country is also awaiting an influx of Ukrainian refugees, although now they are coming at a rate of 300–500 people a day. For comparison, nearly a thousand Ukrainians entered Hungary each day this spring.
Romania. The country has already started reinstating refugee centers containing the means necessary to provide assistance to refugees at the Ukrainian-Romanian border. Local governments have also decided where newly arrived Ukrainians will be housed. Moreover, the Romanian government allocated funds for material and social assistance to refugees who will arrive in the country.
Poland. The country is ready to accept approximately 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. Today, the Polish authorities do not observe an increase in the flow of Ukrainians.
Germany. The German government predicts that the coming winter will cause a new influx of Ukrainians. In the country, a temporary shelter is currently being set up on the territory of the Tegel airport — tents for people are being set up right on the airfield. The facility is designed to accommodate 3,600 people. In general, Berlin believes that housing for 10,000 refugees should be organized in the city by the end of the year.
Lithuania. The country's authorities are also actively preparing for a new wave of Ukrainian refugees. Currently, there are more than 70,000 Ukrainians in the country.
Bulgaria. The country is actively preparing for an increase in the number of Ukrainians fleeing the war and power outages. Unlike previous waves, new refugees won't be settled in hotels. First, they will be directed to a single refugee center in the town of Elhovo and then accommodated in government-owned facilities.
Estonia. The number of Ukrainian refugees in the country is predicted to rise from the current 61,500 to 75,000 by the end of the year.
The Czech Republic. The Czech government has warned that although it will struggle to accommodate a new wave of Ukrainian refugees, the country won't reject them. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic announced that the country was prepared to accept 500,000 Ukrainians in addition to the 350,000 already staying on its territory.

Context. Earlier this month, the European Commission allocated an additional €100 million to support member states that accept the most refugees from Ukraine. The funds were provided to Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

According to the UN, more than 4.4 million Ukrainian refugees were registered in Europe at the beginning of November. The countries that have accepted the most Ukrainians under temporary protection schemes are Poland (1.4 million), Germany (more than 709,000), the Czech Republic (438,900), Bulgaria (nearly 143,000), the United Kingdom (138,400), and France (105,000).