European Union (EU) mayors and regional leaders have no doubt: the influx of displaced people caused by Russia’s “all-out aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 is the largest the European Union has ever faced.” The survey “EU local politicians and the future of Europe” was conducted by IPSOS between July 25 and September 11, 2023.
The displaced Ukrainians are mostly women and children. Thanks to the EU using “the Temporary Protection Directive for the first time”, they were guaranteed the right to residence, access to housing, healthcare and education, and to seek employment. Displaced Ukrainians have settled across the EU – “around half of EU regions and cities say they have welcomed refugees from Ukraine, but have mainly opted for big cities.”
More than 3.5 million Ukrainians are located in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland; some countries, notably Estonia, received particularly high numbers relative to the host population. The ten EU regions hosting the largest number of refugees are Poland (five), Germany (four) and the Czech Republic (Prague region).
With more than 220,000 refugees, North Rhine-Westphalia (DE) “is the EU region hosting the largest number of Ukrainian refugees, followed by Mazowieckie (in Poland) with just over 200,000.” Regions and cities provided personalized support “in terms of education and other integration services, especially for women.”
The majority of regions and municipalities (60%) consider that there are “clear benefits – in demographic, attitudinal and economic terms, among others – of welcoming refugees into their communities”, to which the “solidarity demonstrated towards the displaced Ukrainians”. positive attitude.”
Four out of five EU municipalities and regions (83%) believe that they “can contribute in some way to the reconstruction of Ukraine, through the broader European plan to help the country’s recovery”, through “material aid and financial, twinning programs or through the exchange of goods Many are taking action: the number of bilateral partnerships between the EU and Ukrainian regions and cities has increased. However, more than half of Ukraine’s smaller cities still “They have no formal EU partners.”
The Alliance of Municipalities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, “created by the CoR and numerous partners in June 2022, is helping to close this gap in subnational cooperation.” The truth is that Ukraine’s dual needs – to rebuild and prepare for EU membership – “mean that demand for material, financial, technical and political knowledge will increase.”
The Covenant of Mayors – East project, funded by the EU and aimed at supporting the ecological transition in the Eastern Partnership countries, shows, in the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), “the potential of subnational action” . According to the annual report published today, 198 municipalities in Ukraine joined the project and 158 developed local action plans.
The European Alliance of Municipalities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine provided a “platform to coordinate relief efforts and express strong political and symbolic support from EU regions and cities to their Ukrainian counterparts.”
Receive and welcome Ukrainians
For representatives of EU local and regional authorities, the most important actions they took to respond to the emergency created by the war against Ukraine were the “creation of reception centers and the provision of accommodation” for Ukrainian refugees and displaced people. . This is the opinion of 46% of Portuguese respondents and exactly one in two Europeans.
Access to social and medical assistance for displaced people is valued, in the aforementioned CoR annual barometer, by a third of respondents (both national and European in general, 33%), and the creation of specific opportunities and facilities for displaced children, deserves the agreement of only 17% of Portuguese mayors and 21% of European local and regional elected officials.
Regarding the creation of employment opportunities for displaced people (which remains the main concern of Portuguese elected officials when it comes to the indigenous population), references appear only in 22% of the Portuguese and 16% of the Europeans.
And how can regions or cities contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine? Involving them in a broader European reconstruction plan is the response given by more than half of Portuguese elected officials (52%) and close to half of Europeans in general (45%). Providing financial and material support appeals to the majority of European mayors (31%) more than Portuguese mayors (17%). The promotion of good governance at local and regional level also gains more support among Europeans (27%), three percentage points more than the Portuguese (24%).
Source: TSF
