German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has backed excluding Ukrainian men of draft age from the EU’s automatic temporary protection mechanism, arguing that evading military service should not qualify someone for asylum.
Dobrindt said this in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Ukrinform reports.
"Until now, Ukrainians have received automatic protection under the Temporary Protection Directive. In the case of Syrians fleeing civil war, there has always been an individual assessment as part of the asylum procedure. In the future, Ukrainian men of military age should no longer fall under this directive. They should, of course, still be able to apply for asylum, but evasion of military service is not grounds for asylum," Dobrindt said.
The minister stressed that the legal frameworks for Ukrainians and Syrians are fundamentally different, noting that Ukrainians benefit from collective temporary protection, while Syrians have been required to undergo individual asylum assessments.
According to Dobrindt, if draft-age Ukrainian men are excluded from the temporary protection mechanism and fail to qualify for asylum, they would be required to leave Germany.
