The European Unionʼs support intended for Ukrainian refugees from the war has also reached citizens of Russia and Belarus in Lithuania. This amounts to over a million euros.
LRT writes about this.
The Ministry of Social Protection and Labor has already launched an internal audit, and the European Social Fund Agency (ESFA), which supervised the project, has said goodbye to its head. At the same time, the agency claims that providing assistance to non-Ukrainians was allowed by the rules at the time.
Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania receive support not only with food, hygiene products, medicines, and legal services, but also have the opportunity to learn the Lithuanian language, as well as receive employment subsidies.
The European Union supports the integration of Ukrainians in EU countries, so in 2022-2023, almost €17 million was allocated to the project "Assistance to Refugees from the War in Ukraine".
However, it turned out that the aid intended for Ukrainians was also received by citizens of Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and other countries who have a residence permit in Lithuania.
A total of 813 non-Ukrainians from 43 different countries received such assistance — they were given Lithuanian language courses and provided with employment subsidies.
In total, it is about one million euros in improper spending. The Sejmʼs Audit Committee was informed about the audit results last week. The Office of the Auditor General is demanding the return of the funds.
However, the agency itself rejects the criticism and states that providing assistance to non-Ukrainians was permitted by the regulations at the time. They also emphasize that only 484 people received support by mistake.
"The situation arose due to the interpretation of the then-current documents. According to them, socially vulnerable persons, not necessarily from Ukraine, could participate in additional measures — such as Lithuanian language courses and subsidized employment," said Jolita Pētraitienė, Head of the ESFA Project Development Department.
Despite this, the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Protection confirmed that the project implementer — the Lithuanian Employment Service — will be obliged to return the funds within the specified period.
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