EU Member States have agreed to extend the protection of Ukrainian refugees until March 2027. The system reduces pressure on asylum systems.
The European Union Member States agreed on Friday to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian war refugees by one year. In the EU, they will be able to stay until 4 March 2027 on the basis of this mechanism, TASR reports according to AFP and the EU Council Press release.
“We will continue to provide the protection of millions of Ukrainian refugees for another year,” said Polish Minister Tomasz Siemoniak after a meeting with departmental colleagues from Member States.
Return discussion
According to Siemoniak, the Polish Presidency of the EU Council initiated a discussion on the strategy of gradual termination of temporary protection after reaching a fair peace in Ukraine. “In the near future, we will work on common, full -time solutions in this area, including solutions in the context of returns to Ukraine,” the Minister added.
The European Commission (EC) 4 June proposed an extension on the grounds that Russian attacks were continuing and the situation in Ukraine is not stable. For the first time, she also stressed that the validity of a special statute for refugees will be expired once. She recommended the Member States to be coordinated for the transition to other forms of residence of these persons.
The EU has been providing protection to Ukrainians since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022 and in the present time it is used by 4.3 million people. The largest refugee communities live in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Temporary protection has been prolonged several times and has been valid until March 2026.
Persons with temporary protection have the same rights throughout the EU, including a residence permit, access to the labor and housing market, health care, social security and access to education.
The temporary protection system, according to the EU Council’s press release, reduces pressure on national asylum systems, since persons falling under this type of protection may not apply for asylum on an individual basis.
The EU Council will officially take a decision to extend temporary protection at one of its upcoming meetings.
