EU may decide future of Ukrainian refugees in June — Czech Prime Minister

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Radio Svoboda.

"Refugee protection in the EU is valid until March 2026. Of course, we cannot wait until the last minute to decide what the situation will be after that. Discussions are ongoing, but the main discussion will take place in June, during the meeting of the Council of Interior Ministers, where the Czech Minister of the Interior, Vít Rakušan, will participate. There, I hope, a European position will be determined and a solution proposed. We always say that proposals will depend on the development of the current situation, but we remember that it is necessary to decide what will happen after March 2026," he said.

He emphasized that the Czech Republic has accepted the most Ukrainian refugees per capita, and some of them have been successfully integrated into the country's economy, including 160,000 Ukrainian refugees who are officially employed.

• As of the end of January 2025, almost 4.3 million Ukrainians had temporary protection in EU countries.