Refugees from Ukraine's southwestern Zakarpattia Oblast are being evicted from shelters after the Hungarian government passed a decree to restrict housing assistance for Ukrainians fleeing their country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Aug. 22.
The decree, which entered into force on Aug. 21, limits government-subsidized housing only to those Ukrainians who fled the territories directly affected by active hostilities.
RFE/RL reported that 120 Ukrainian refugees had been evicted on the morning of Aug. 21 in the village of Kocs in the north of Hungary.
Most of these refugees are members of the Roma minority from southwestern Zakarpattia Oblast who lived in a private shelter subsidized by the government. Some of them had to spend the night on the street.
The amendment to the legislation, which significantly changed the procedure for providing housing assistance to refugees from Ukraine, has raised concerns of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, who called on Budapest to review this decision.
According to U.N. estimations, up to 3,000 refugees will lose their right to government-subsidized housing.
This step mainly affects the Roma minority from Zakarpattia Oblast, who are still living in shelters that are about to be closed. Many of them have double Ukrainian-Hungarian citizenship, so they are refused temporary protection in other EU countries.
Hungary is currently hosting over 30,000 refugees from Ukraine.
On July 30, the Hungarian government loosened entry requirements for Russian and Belorussian citizens, who are now included in the National Card program. This allows them to come and work in Hungary for up to two years.
Dominic Culverwell
