The European Union is considering restricting Ukrainians’ access to temporary protection, the scheme that has allowed more than four million people to live in EU member states since 2022.
Countries including Poland and Germany are pushing to exclude military-age men from the status, which grants the right to reside and work in the EU until March 2027.
Under current rules, Ukrainians can obtain refugee-like protection without applying for asylum through the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, an exceptional measure activated days after Russia’s full-scale invasion and renewed annually ever since.
At a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday, several options for narrowing the scheme were discussed, diplomats told Euronews.
The proposal gaining the most support would exclude Ukrainian men aged 23 to 60 who are eligible for military service.
