Commission's Technical Support Instrument to help nine Member States welcome and support people fleeing the war in Ukraine

Member States that have filed a request for support will receive it over the coming months. These are Belgium, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. It is our duty to help those who flee the war and look for safety in the EU. This means giving them access to housing, education, healthcare and jobs. With the Technical Support Instrument, the European Commission supports Member States to make this happen smoothly and quickly”. The technical expertise is provided under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), managed by the Commission. It will help Member States with the absorption of EU funds for reception and integration purposes as well as assist them in implementing the Temporary Protection Directive; facilitating the recognition of Ukrainian refugees' qualifications and diplomas in order to facilitate their entry into the EU labour market; adapting their school curricula to the needs of Ukrainian pupils; and improving inter-ministerial coordination. On 21 March 2022, in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Commission launched a dedicated call to support Member States welcoming refugees from Ukraine and the phasing out of their reliance on fossil fuels from Russia. Requests submitted by the Member States have now been assessed and approved by the Commission. Under the TSI 2022, the Commission is already helping Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal in the framework of flagship support projects ‘Integration of Third Country Nationals in EU Member States'. These projects improve national administrations' capacity to provide inclusive and effective integration services, and to help retain talent and facilitate access to the labour market to third country nationals. The TSI support complements the work of EU Agencies and in particular the European Asylum Agency (EUAA) that is active in Malta, Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Belgium, Latvia and Lithuania and soon in Czechia and the Netherlands).