Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Friday in Baia Mare that checks will be made of the way cash benefits were granted to individuals for food and accommodation to refugees from Ukraine, and the relevant legislation will be amended, according to Agerpres.

At a news conference, journalists said that the money the Romanian government pays for the refugees from Ukraine is not used to provide food, and the living arrangements for the refugees are bad.

„This regulation is included in the emergency ordinance that was issued by the government when the crisis in Ukraine began. If I remember correctly, the ordinance makes it very clear that that responsibility for everything that means the management of this aspect falls to the local administrations who also are responsible for checking how these payments are made. (…) It is necessary now, probably depending on what the government agrees with the relevant institutions and authorities, to look at this legal framework and have every confidence that the necessary checks and changes will be made to adjust it for the newly created situation. It is a shame that the suffering of some people is used for undeserved benefits (…),” said Ciuca.

Under Emergency Ordinance 28/2022, Romanian individuals who host foreign citizens or stateless persons in need coming from the war zone in Ukraine, qualify for refunds payable from the budget of the county emergency management inspectorates, RON 20 per day per person accommodated for food and RON 50 per day per person accommodated for housing.

Agerpres