What measures has the EU taken in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
On 24 February 2022 Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine. This triggered measures by the EU in various areas, including measures relating to refugees from Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, steps to safeguard Europe’s energy supply and mitigate the impact of energy price rises, and financial measures to support EU member states and Ukraine. The invasion also has implications for cooperation between EU supreme courts of audit and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February has led to millions of Ukrainians fleeing to EU member states.
On 4 March 2022, the Council activated the Temporary Protection Directive providing temporary protection in the EU for displaced Ukrainian refugees.
This means Ukrainian nationals can stay in the EU member states without having to apply for asylum and are entitled to services such as housing and education and may work in the EU. The Temporary Protection Directive has been extended until 4 March 2026.
In line with a judgment by the European Court of Justice in December 2024, the Council of State ruled on 23 April 2025 that the temporary protection of refugees who had held a temporary residence permit in Ukraine, for instance for work or study, should be ended earlier than the temporary protection of Ukrainians, stateless persons and third-country nationals with a permanent residence permit. This group will therefore no longer be entitled to a Dutch residence permit under the Temporary Protection Regulation as of 4 March 2024.
According to EUROSTAT, on 28 February 2025 slightly more than 4.3 million refugees had temporary protection. By 24 April 2025, 122,080 Ukrainian refugees had registered in the Netherlands.
More information:
- Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof - Temporary Protection Directive (2001)
- Council implementation decision (EU) 2022/382 - Council of the EU’s decision to implement temporary protection for Ukraine misplaced persons (04-03-2022)
- Ukrainian refugees: Council extends temporary protection until March 2026 - Council press release (25-06-2024)
- Opvang derdelanders stopt na 4 maart 2024 - Government information on the termination of temporary protection of third-country nationals from Ukraine (24-01-2024) (Dutch only)
- Tijdelijke bescherming van ‘derdelanders’ mag eerder eindigen dan die van Oekraïners - Temporary protection of third-country nationals may end earlier – News item of the Council of State on temporary protection of third-country nationals from Ukraine (23-04-2025)
- Temporary protection for 4.3 million in February 2025 – EUROSTAT news item on displaced Ukrainians with temporary protection status (10-04-2025)
- Migration management: Welcoming refugees from Ukraine, European Commission
- Cijfers opvang vluchtelingen uit Oekraïne in Nederland - Number of Ukraine refugees in the Netherlands (Dutch only)
The EU has imposed 17 packages of sanctions on Russia since the start of the war. They include economic sanctions and trade bans to weaken the Russian economy and restrict its ability to wage war.
On 28 November 2022, violation of the sanctions was added to the EU list of crimes. A directive adopted in April 2024 criminalised infringement and circumvention of EU sanctions.
On October 8, 2024, the EU proposed a sanctions framework for hybrid threats that damage the EU and its member states.
More information:
- Sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine
- EU sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, European Commission
- Sanctions: Council adds the violation of restrictive measures to the list of EU crimes - Press release European Council (28-11-2022)
- Council gives final approval to introduce criminal offences and penalties for EU sanctions’ violation - Press release on the Council of the EU’s final approval of a directive defining criminal offences and penalties for violations of restrictive measures (12-04-2024)
- Directive 2024/1226 on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures (24-04-2024)
- Human rights violations in Russia
- Decision concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s destabilising activities (08-10-2024)
The EU is reliant in part for its energy on Russian natural gas.
The European Commission presented the REPowerEU plan in May 2022 to mitigate the consequences that the war in Ukraine has for energy security in the EU, energy prices and the reliance on Russian fossil fuels. The plan must reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels within the near future and accelerate the energy transition. Part of the plan is the EU energy platform under which EU member states can, among other things, procure gas jointly.
In May 2025 the European Commission presented a roadmap to gradually reduce the remaining dependence on Russian energy imports. The EU has also taken legal measures to combat problems of energy security and energy prices in the EU.
More information:
To absorp the financial consequences of the war for EU member states the EU has responded by taking various measures.
Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE)
The CARE Regulation (April 2022) allows the member states to redirect unspent EU resources in the 2014-2020 cohesion funds (ERDF, ESF and FEAD) to meet migration challenges.
In 2022, the €10 billion in recovery assistance (REACT-EU) could also be applied to address migration challenges and the pre-financing member states can receive from REACT-EU resources was increased by €3.4 billion in total.
The FAST-CARE Regulation (October 2022) offers member states greater flexibility in cohesion policy, in part by increasing pre-financing by €3.5 billion.
More information:
- Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 223/2014 as regards Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE)
- CARE – Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe - European Commission information regarding CARE
- REACT-EU - European Commission information regarding REACT-EU
- Regulation (EU) 2022/613 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 April 2022 amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 223/2014 as regards increased pre-financing from REACT-EU resources and the establishment of a unit cost
- Ukraine: €3.4 billion REACT-EU pre-financing to Member States welcoming refugees fleeing Ukraine - Press release European Commission (23-03-2022)
- Regulation (EU) 2022/2039 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) 2021/1060 as regards additional flexibility to address the consequences of the military aggression of the Russian Federation FAST (Flexible Assistance for Territories) – CARE - (19-10-2022)
- Ukraine: Cohesion Policy steps up support to address the consequences of Russia's aggression in Ukraine with the ‘Flexible Assistance to Territories' - Press release European Commission (29-06-2022)
Relaxation of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)
Until 2024 EU budget rules were more flexible. The member states’ budget deficits and public debt could exceed the SGP’s reference values (3% and 60% respectively). The new European budget rules came into force at the end of April 2024.
More information:
- European Semester Spring Package: Sustaining a green and sustainable recovery in the face of increased uncertainty - Press release European Commission concerning relaxation of the SGP until 2024 (23-05-2022)
- Fiscal policy guidance for 2024: Promoting debt sustainability and sustainable and inclusive growth - Press release European Commission regarding deactivating the escape clause concerning the reference values of SGP (08-03-2023)
- How does the EU ensure that its member states keep their budgets in check? - Netherlands Court of Audit regarding Stability and Growth Pact
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Economic governance review: Council adopts reform of fiscal rules - Press release Council of the EU regarding economic governance review (29-04-2024)
Temporary crisis framework for state aid measures
To prevent unfair competition, state aid may not generally be awarded to enterprises in the EU.
To mitigate the economic impact of the war and assist badly affected businesses and sectors, the Commission presented a Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State Aid measures on 23 March 2022. The temporary framework has been replaced on 9 March 2023 with the temporary crisis and transition framework. The framework will end on 31 December 2025, after a number of aid measures for specific sectors were terminated in 2024. The Commission publishes regular overviews of measures that have been approved under the temporary framework.
As far as we are aware, the Netherlands has applied 8 times for state aid decisions as at May 2025, involving a total amount of €3.5 billion. These applications include measures to support renewable heat projects, greenhouse horticulture sector, and an aid scheme for energy-intensive companies. The Commission also approved a Dutch scheme costing up to €406.4 million to support the filling of the Bergermeer gas storage facility.
More information:
- State aid, European Commission
- Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework - EU rules regarding State aid to support economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia
- Daily News 07 / 07 / 2023 - Press release of the European Commission regarding approval of €370 million Dutch scheme to support filling of gas storage facility Bergermeer (07-07-2023)
- Temporary Crisis Transition Framework (TCTF) (PDF) - European Commission list of member states measures approved under temporary crisis and transition framework - the list is periodically updated by the European omission and includes decisions on Dutch aid measures
- La Commission se félicite de l'accord final sur le portefeuille d'identité numérique de l'UE - Press-release European Commission regarding the approval of Dutch scheme to support companies having implemented renewable heat projects (9-11-2023)
- State aid: Commission approves Dutch scheme to support the filling of the gas storage facility Bergermeer in context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - Press-release European Commission (12-07-2022)
- Daily News 07 / 07 / 2023 - Press release of the European Commission on approval of the reintroduction of a scheme to support the filling of the natural gas storage facility Bergermeer (7-07-2023)
The EU has introduced various measures to support Ukraine itself:
- Humanitarian and military support
- Financial support
- Import and export measures
Humanitarian and military support
By the end of May 2025 the EU had provided € 970 million for civil support. The European Peace Facility has made € 11,1 billion euro available for military support. Payment of a large proportion of this money to Ukraine is being held back by Hungary. In addition the European Union Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM) was established in November 2022 to enhance the military capability of the Ukrainian armed forces. It is financed through the European Peace Facility. Until May 2025, total funding amounts to €382 million. The mission will run until 15 November 2026.
On 24 February 2025 the European Commission adopted a package of measures to fully connect Ukraine’s electricity supply to the EU electricity market and thus secure energy supply.
More information:
- EU Civil Protection Mechanism - Explanation by the European Commission of the Union civil protection mechanism
- Ukraine - Information from the European Commission of civil protection and humanitarian support for Ukraine
- European Peace Facility, European Council
- EU solidarity with Ukraine, European Council
- EU military support for Ukraine - Explanation by the European Council of military support for Ukraine
- Ukraine: EU launches Military Assistance Mission, Press-release European Council (15-11-2022)
- EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine
- Ukraine: Council extends the mandate of the EU Military Assistance Mission for two years - Press release of the Council of the EU on extending the EUMAM mandate (08-11-2024)
- Commission steps up support for Ukraine's energy security and paves the way for full market integration - Press release of the European Commission on support for Ukraine’s energy security (24-02-2025)
Financial support
Macro-financial assistance
In total, the EU provided Ukraine with €7.2 billion in macro-financial aid in 2022. As is customary with extraordinary financial assistance, the Commission borrows funds from financial institutions and on the capital market on behalf of the EU. The Netherlands has guaranteed approximately €0.2 billion.
In 2023 €18 billion in loans was paid out. The Netherlands guarantees approximately €1 billion. It also pays interest of about €40 million per annum.
The European Council adopted a financial assistance package to Ukraine in October 2024. It includes an exceptional macro-financial assurance loan of up to €35 billion and the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA), a cooperation mechanism to support Ukraine in repaying loans for up to €45 billion provided by the EU and G7 partners.
The European Commission paid out the third tranche under the Ukraine facility in April 2025. The total macro-financial aid paid out from this facility thus amounted to €19.6 billion. In April 2025 a further €1 billion was released for Ukraine from the EU part of the ERA loans. To date, €5 billion has been paid out from the EU part; the remaining €13.1 billion will follow before the end of 2025, bringing the total from the EU to €18.1 billion.
More information:
- Decision of European Parliament and of the Council to provide macro-financial assistance for Ukraine (PDF) (24-02-2022)
- Ukraine: Commission presents plans for the Union's immediate response to address Ukraine's financing gap and the longer-term reconstruction - Press-release European Commission (18-05-2022)
- Commission disburses further €2.5 billion in exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine - Press release European Commission regarding the third tranche of macro-financial assistance for Ukraine (23-11-2022)
- Commission proposes stable and predictable support package for Ukraine for 2023 of up to €18 billion - Press-release European Commission (09-11-2022)
- Kamerbrief over kabinetsappreciatie commissievoorstel macro-financiële bijstand 2023 aan Oekraïne - Appreciation Dutch cabinet regarding macro-financial assistance for Ukraine (29-11-2022) (Dutch only)
- Macro-Financial Assistance - European Commission concerning macro-financial assistance for Ukraine
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Immobilised assets: Council greenlights up to €35 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine and new loan mechanism implementing G7 commitment - Council press release
Setting up a new support mechanism for Ukraine
For the period 2024-2027, the Ukraine Facility is established to support the recovery, reconstruction and modernisation of Ukraine. The facility consists of up to €50 billion (current prices), of which €33 billion will be in the form of loans and €17 billion in non-repayable support such as grants and guarantees.
The proposed facility consists of three pillars: (I) financial support for a reform and investment agenda (the Ukraine Plan), (II) an investment framework to mobilise public and private financing for Ukraine; and (III) technical assistance and other supporting measures for implementing reforms in Ukraine in the pre-accession phase and for capacity-building. Loans under pillar I will be granted for up to 35 years.
An amount of €11.8 billion has now been paid out to Ukraine in 3 regular payments. The payment followed €7.9 earlier funding.
More information:
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Ukraine Facility: Council approves third payment of close to €3.5 billion to Ukraine - Press release of the Council of the EU on approval of het third regular payment from the Ukraine facility (17-03-2025)
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The Commission disburses €3.5 billion as part of the Ukraine Facility - Press release of the European Commission on the payment of the third regular payment (01-04-2025)
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Oekraïne ontvangt € 50 miljard extra steun van de Europese Unie (EU) - Government press release regarding the €50 billion support package (01-02-2024) (Dutch only)
- Ministerraad stemt in met EU-steunpakket Oekraïne - Government press release regarding the cabinet’s approval of the support package (09-02-2024) (Dutch only)
- EU long-term budget for 2021-2027: Council concludes the mid-term revision - Press release of the Council of the EU regarding establishment of the Ukraine facility (28-02-2024)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility
- The Ukraine Facility - Explanation of the Council of the EU regarding the Ukraine Facility
- The Ukraine Facility - Information from the European Commission on the Ukraine facility
Import and export measures
The EU has introduced a variety of trade measures. The solidarity lanes have facilitated Ukraine’s agricultural export and bilateral trade (chiefly grain). To date, more than €2 billion has been released for these logistical routes with the aid of the Commission and international financial institutions.
As from 4 June 2022 all import duties and quotas on products originating in Ukraine were removed, as were EU anti-dumping measures and exemptions for steel imports from Ukraine. These measures will be in force until 5 June 2025. At the same time, the Commission decided to improve protection of certain farm products by strengthening protective measures.
Member states could since 24 February 2022 temporarily waive customs duties and VAT on third-countries’ imports of a wide range of life-saving equipment, such as food and tents, destined for Ukrainians affected by the war. For the Netherlands, this exemption applied until 31 December 2023.
More information:
- EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes - Explanation of the solidarity lanes by the European Commission
- Ukraine and Moldova: Council approves the renewal of EU’s autonomous trade measures - Council press release on the renewal of autonomous trade measures (13-05-2024)
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Regulation (EU) 2024/1392 of the European Parliament and of the council - Regulation on temporary trade liberalisation measures (14-05-2024)
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EU actions to enhance global food security - Explanation of the European Commission of EU measures to increase food security
- Ukraine: Commission waives customs duties and VAT on the import of life-saving goods for Ukrainians - Press-release European Commission (01-07-2022)
- Decision of the European Commission of 17 April 2023 on relief from import duties and VAT exemption on importation granted for goods to be distributed or made available free of charge to persons fleeing the military aggression in Ukraine and to persons in need in Ukraine (PDF)
The pages on the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU contain more information on various measures taken in support of Ukraine.
- EU assistance to Ukraine - European Commission
- Timeline: how the EU supported Ukraine in 2022 - European Parliament
- Timeline - EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European Council
The Netherlands Court of Audit and EUROSAI (the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions) stopped working with the audit institutions of Russia and Belarus in March 2022. Russia has also stepped down from the presidency INTOSAI, the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions.
More information
- Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation steps down as chair of INTOSAI - Russian SAI steps down from presidency of global organisation. News item of the Netherlands Court of Audit (09-03-2022)
Overview of audits
The European Court of Auditors has published a number of audit reports relating to the war in Ukraine.
More information:
- Opinion 03/2023 concerning the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Ukraine Facility - Opinion European Court of Auditors concerning the Ukraine Facility (05-10-2023)
- Special report 09/2024: Security of the supply of gas in the EU (24-06-2024)
- Special report 21/2024: State aid in times of crisis (23-10-2024)
- Special report 05/2025: Cohesion’s Actions for Refugees in Europe (12-02-2025)
Most recently updated in June 2025, situation as in May 2025.