The European Commission is proposing today to launch the Temporary Protection Directive to provide quick and effective help to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, including the possibility of obtaining a residence permit and access to education and to the labor market, the Commission informed.
The Commission’s proposal aims to ensure that people fleeing the war receive temporary protection in the EU, which means that they will receive residence permits and gain access to education and to the labor market, it was announced.
The Commission also presented operational guidelines to help Member States’ border guards effectively manage the influx of people at the borders with Ukraine, while maintaining a high level of security.
The guidelines also recommend that Member States create privileged corridors (lanes) for the delivery of humanitarian aid;
Since Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine, over 650,000 people have fled to neighboring EU Member States. The Temporary Protection Directive is specifically designed to provide immediate protection to those who need it and to prevent an overload of Member States’ asylum systems.
According to this proposal, people displaced as a result of the conflict – both Ukrainian citizens and those who lived there, as well as their family members – will be entitled to protection throughout the European Union.
Non-Ukrainian nationals and stateless persons who have resided legally in Ukraine and cannot return to their country or region of origin, such as asylum seekers or beneficiaries of international protection and their family members, will also be protected in the EU.
Given the extraordinary and exceptional nature of the invasion and the number of people arriving in the EU, the Temporary Protection Directive allows for an appropriate response to the current situation with the following measures:
– immediate protection and rights – right of residence, access to the labor market, access to housing, social assistance, medical or other assistance and means of subsistence. For unaccompanied children and adolescents, temporary protection includes the right to legal guardianship and access to education.
– reducing the burden on national asylum systems by creating a protection status with limited paperwork.
– greater solidarity and responsibility sharing – balancing the efforts of individual Member States to receive displaced persons from Ukraine. The “solidarity platform” where Member States can exchange information on reception capacity will be coordinated by the Commission.
– Continued support from EU agencies: Frontex, the European Union Agency for Asylum and Europol may, upon request, provide Member States with further operational support for the smooth implementation of the decision.
The available border management facilities include:
– simplification of border controls at the borders of the EU with Ukraine
– flexibility in terms of entry conditions – border guards may allow non-EU nationals to enter the territory of a Member State on humanitarian grounds, even if they do not fulfill all entry conditions (for example, they do not have a valid passport or visa).
– permitting border crossing points at temporary border crossing points outside official border crossing points.
– easy access for emergency services and humanitarian aid – facilitating entry and exit for rescue services, police and fire brigades, incl. to provide medical assistance as well as food and water supplies to people waiting to cross the border
– personal belongings and pets – persons expelled from Ukraine may bring their personal belongings free of duty, facilities are available to persons who come with their pets.
The guidelines strongly recommend that Member States use the support that EU agencies can provide – Frontex can help identify and register arriving persons and Europol can second officers to assist Member States in secondary checks.
It is up to the Council to adopt the proposal for temporary protection. In an extraordinary meeting on Sunday 27 February, the Council has already expressed its broad support for both measures and committed to discussing these two documents at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on Thursday 3 March. Upon adoption, the temporary protection would immediately apply for one year. This period is automatically extended and extended by periods of six months for another year.
The guidelines on the management of the external borders are a non-binding document aimed at supporting border guards in their work.
Source: ISBnews
