Background information

On 18 March 2022 the Hungarian government published a website with information for people who want to help Ukrainian refugees. The site is titled 'How can I help Ukrainian refugees?' It is also revealed on the website that the government funds the Bridge for Transcarpathia ( Híd Kárpátaljáért ) campaign which is a grouping of six charities working on support for Ukraine. The campaign is mentioned in parliamentary declaration 1/2022 published on 10 March.

Many other NGOs outside the government's support scope are also organising aid for Ukrainian refugees.

Content of measure

The site starts with the message: "Would you help refugees from Ukraine with food? Can you help with interpretation? Provide accommodation? Would you volunteer? All information in one place. The site lists the six charities involved in the campaign and the coordination centres where material donations can be dropped off. The six organisations are: Catholic Charity, Hungarian Reformed-Church Relief Service, Hungarian Maltese Relief Service, Baptist Relief Service, Hungarian Ecumenical Aid Organisation, and the Hungarian Red Cross. The Bridge for Transcarpathia campaign calls attention to the nearly 200,000 ethnic Hungarians, many of whom have dual Hungarian-Ukrainian citizenship, who live in western Ukraine.

Use of measure

Hungary had already spent €5.4 million in humanitarian aid for those fleeing Ukraine, and had earmarked €8.1 million to help support six charities in their aid work, government spokesman Zoltán Kovacs told the Guardian in March 2022. By 24 March the government campaign incorporating six charities received "several ten million forints" for their aims of distributing food, shelter and other humanitarian aid to refugees. Donations to the government helpline stood at HUF 784 million (€2 million) by the end of March, according to Magyar Nemzet .

Miklós Soltész, Minister at the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Church and Nationality Relations said in parliament in December 2022 that the number of Ukrainian refugees in Hungary has reached one million, with nearly 200,000 people applying for temporary residence; 855 solidarity rail tickets were issued for crossing the border, nearly 3,000 tonnes of food, medical and other supplies were delivered to Ukraine. All this was provided by the Bridge for Transcarpathia Charity," he said, the public media website hirado.hu reported.

On 8 March 2023 Soltész said that the Hungarian government extended HUF 3 billion (€7.89 million) to the aid programmes for displaced people from Ukraine last year, and residential donations amounted to an additional HUF 1 billion. The UNHCR also signed a contract for HUF 2.5 billion in support with the six charities involved in the Bridge to Transcarpathia programme.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Migrants or refugees

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds Other

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement was reported.

Views and reactions

Social partners in general expressed support for the government's efforts to help refugees fleeing Ukraine. No other specific views or proposals were made.

Sources

• 10 March 2022: 1/2022 parliamentary statement on the Russia-Ukraine war (njt.hu)
• 24 March 2022: Bridge for Transcarpathia gets support
• 05 December 2022: Bridge for Transcarpathia charity helps (hirado.hu)
• 08 March 2023: Hungary still helps Ukraine refugees (kormany.hu)