The European Commission instructed Bucharest to redirect funds it had received for other projects but had not yet spent into assistance for Ukrainian refugees. Some of that money was previously meant, for example, for the REACT-EU program, which provided financial relief to alleviate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly two billion euros were supposed to be available for food and accommodation for over five million people who crossed the border seeking refuge in Romania. More than 1.5 billion of it never reached the refugees, as Context.ro found.
Source: Written by OCCRP, CONTEXT.RO, 2023-10-05; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/18091-romania-has-blocked-aid-for-ukrainian-refugees