LUXEMBOURG: European Union ministers on Thursday broadly supported a proposal to limit access to temporary protection for Ukrainian men of military age, reflecting a growing debate over how the bloc can continue supporting refugees while also helping Ukraine sustain its war effort against Russia.
The European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine to manage the mass arrival of displaced people. The scheme, extended three times and currently due to expire in March 2027, grants beneficiaries residence permits, access to labor markets and social welfare programs across the bloc.
Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell said Sweden supported the proposal discussed during a meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers in Luxembourg. Any restrictions, he stressed, should apply only to future applicants and not to Ukrainians already covered by the scheme.
“It is essential for us to provide Ukrainians with protection, but at the same time the war needs to be fought and won. For that to happen, it is essential that more men stay in Ukraine and fight,” Forssell said ahead of the meeting.
The debate marks an early political discussion about what happens when the temporary protection framework expires in 2027 and whether future extensions should be more narrowly targeted than the bloc’s original blanket approach.
