14/03/2022 (Agence Europe) – Three chronically ill Ukrainian children and their parents were evacuated from Poland to Italy on Sunday 13 March, the European Commission announced on Monday. This is the first MEDEVAC operation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Poland, which itself activated the civil protection mechanism on 28 February to help cover the needs of the 1.7 million refugees it is hosting, has so far received help from France, Germany, Denmark and Austria. The reallocation of €420 million of unused funds from the previous EU budget and cohesion funds is not humanitarian aid as such, but the provision of resources that can be used by EU member states for refugees, said the Commission’s chief spokesman Eric Mamer (see EUROPE 12906/5). (AN)