EU Commission Seeks to Extend Ukrainian Refugee Protection Until March 2025

Ukranian individuals will receive further refugee protection, valid until March 2025.

The European Commission has proposed an extension of temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees escaping Russian aggression, seeking to prolong it from March 4, 2024, until March 3, 2025, with the aim of ensuring their safety and providing assistance to over four million beneficiaries across the EU.

In an announcement made on September 19, the EU Commission emphasized the ongoing justification for this temporary protection, deeming it appropriate to prolong this safeguarding measure, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.

The extension is viewed as an essential and fitting response to the enduring unstable conditions that have yet to create a conducive atmosphere for the secure and sustainable repatriation of temporary protection beneficiaries within the EU.

"The Temporary Protection Directive grants immediate protection and access to various entitlements within the EU, including residence rights, labor market access, housing, social support, medical care, and more," clarified the EU commission.

Among the nations extending the status of temporary protection for Ukrainian women by another year until the end of March 2025 is Czechia.

Previously, Eurostat, the EU Statistical Office, disclosed that in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU member states extended temporary protection to nearly four million individuals fleeing the conflict.

Based on these statistics, Germany conferred temporary protection status on 28% of all beneficiaries, exceeding one million refugees. Poland followed closely, providing protection status to 995,035 individuals, constituting 25% of the total. Additionally, Czechia granted this status to 331,850 people, representing 8% of all beneficiaries.

Eurostat also observed a 1.3% increase in the number of beneficiaries across the EU, equivalent to an additional 51,010 refugees. Notably, Germany, Sweden, and Czechia each saw individual growth rates of two percent.

According to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as of September 19, 2023, Europe has registered a total of 5,828,000 Ukrainian refugees, while the global figure stands at 6,197,200 people originating from Ukraine.

The same source highlights Poland's active support for Ukrainian refugees, with a total of 959,875 registered refugees and the grant of 28,445 temporary protection statuses to Ukrainian refugees in January of this year. Additionally, Czechia has provided refuge to a total of 368,300 Ukrainians.

UNHCR further underscored Moldova's crucial role in supporting Ukrainian refugees, registering a total of 116,950 of them. Slovakia has recorded a total of 108,500 Ukrainians finding refuge in the country.

 

Source: schengenvisainfo.com