European Commission proposes to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until 2025

The European Commission announced this on Tuesday, September 19.

This step will provide certainty and support for more than 4 million people who receive protection across the EU, the Commission said.

The EU activated the Temporary Protection Directive on March 4, 2022, by unanimous decision of the Member States, and it was automatically extended for one year.

The Commission considers that the reasons for temporary protection remain and therefore temporary protection should be extended as a necessary response to the current unstable situation, which is not yet conducive to the safe and sustainable return of those using temporary protection.

Now the EU Council has to approve this proposal.

Ukrainian refugees in Europe

In January of this year, the UN reported that the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe is close to 8 million.

As of May 12, four million Ukrainian citizens who left after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022 were granted temporary protection in the European Union, including about 700,000 who work and another 450,000 who study at schools and universities.

On June 20, Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that over 8 million Ukrainians have become refugees. Of these, more than 5 million have applied for temporary resident status in neighboring Western European countries.  

According to the latest sociological research, up to 2 million refugees are ready to return to Ukraine, while the rest are either hesitant or not going to do so.

On September 15, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke in favor of extending the temporary protection of Ukrainian refugees for another year, "as long as this terrible war continues."