The European Union plans to divert billions of euros from poverty and climate projects in low-income countries to improve its “migration and border management,” said aid organizations.
The bloc’s new multiyear budget — dominated by a €50 billion ($54.8 billion) aid stream for Ukraine — also includes a proposal to shift up to €2.6 billion within its main development funding pot to tackling what it calls the “extraordinary geopolitical tension” from increased migration.
The Ukraine package was blocked by Hungary’s right-wing government late last week, but leaders of other EU nations have an alternate plan to force it through at an emergency summit to be held on Feb. 1.