Attachments
Part 1: Current Situation
Situation Overview
Romania plays a crucial role in hosting refugees amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, over 7.5 million people have crossed the border into Romania from Ukraine and Moldova. As of 30 September 2024, 172,475 Ukrainian refugees have been granted Temporary Protection (TP) under the EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), ensuring access to essential services like education and healthcare, to employment and more recently social benefits.
Romania was the first European country to develop a National Plan of Measures (NPM) for displaced people, adopted on 30 June 2022, focusing on long-term protection and inclusion. More recently, Emergency Ordinance 96/2024. established the framework for the inclusion of refugees from Ukraine in the national social protection schemes in Romania and introducing time-limited conditional assistance for new arrivals, covering emergency shelter and basic needs or a lump sum payment covering three months to address immediate needs.
RRP partners, working alongside the Romanian government, continue to work towards the effective inclusion of refugees into the national systems and to deliver essential services, including protection, education, healthcare, and mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS). Despite these efforts, challenges persist. Language barriers and administrative hurdles continue to limit access to services.
While progress was made, only 42 per cent of working-age refugees report being employed,4 many of whom not formally, and 28 per cent of households needing healthcare face difficulties accessing it. 5 School enrolment has improved substantially but remains comparatively low, with about a third of Ukrainian refugee children reportedly regularly attending school.Given the unpredictability of the conflict, RRP partners closely monitor the situation and work with the Government of Romania to keep contingency planning up to date should the situation require.
Country Risks and Needs As of 30 September 2024, 172,475 Ukrainian refugees have been granted Temporary Protection (TP) under the EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD). The demographic composition of refugees from Ukraine in Romania has become more balanced, with approximately 52 percent female, 48 percent male, and children making up about one-third of the total.
This trend is expected to persist through 2025 and 2026. As the crisis continues, both refugees already in Romania and new arrivals will face a range of socio-economic challenges. Extended displacement has exhausted their financial savings, increasing the risk of harmful coping mechanisms. 9 Currently, 64 percent of refugee households report a decline in purchasing power compared to their initial months in Romania, 25 percent of households reporting reduced food consumption, and 39 per cent of refugee households reporting cuts in essential health expenditures.Substantial progress has been made to support the socio-economic inclusion of refugees in Romania.
A key development was Emergency Ordinance No. 96/202417F which came into force on 1 July 2024 providing refugees with access to social benefits equal to those of Romanian citizens. This includes allowances for children, disability, unemployment, a minimum income, and access to scholarships for children in school. By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, the Ministry of Education reports that nearly 40,000 Ukrainian refugee children were enrolled in the Romanian national education system, a notable increase from 4,361 in December 2022. However, only about a third of children enrolled are regularly attending school in person, highlighting ongoing barriers to full inclusion, and also the choice of parents for their children to only follow the Ukrainian curriculum online.Healthcare remains another area of concern. Although strides have been made to improve access, 27 per cent of refugee households in need of healthcare reportedly still face difficulties. Barriers such as long waiting times, high costs, language issues, administrative challenges affect refugees with chronic diseases or disabilities disproportionately.
Employment outcomes have improved, with 43 per cent of working-age Ukrainians reporting being employed by the end of 2024, up from 33 per cent in 2023 and 15 per cent in 2022. However, refugees frequently cite a lack of Romanian language skills, limited job opportunities, and mismatches between available jobs and their qualifications as significant limitations to further inclusion into the labour market.
While refugees from Ukraine have received a warm welcome in Romania, these positive sentiments may gradually decline. 23 percent of Ukrainian refugee households surveyed in the Socio-Economic Insights Survey reported experiencing negative attitudes, of which 72 percent cited verbal aggression, 24 per cent discrimination, and 14 per cent physical aggression. Therefore, concerted efforts must be undertaken to maintain social cohesion and address concerns of vulnerable host communities in refugee hosting areas, including strengthening service provisions for both refugees and Romanian citizens.