Ukrainian refugees: EU to extend temporary protection

This is stated in a communication from the Council of the EU.

To provide certainty for the more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees currently living in the EU, the Council agreed to extend temporary protection for people fleeing Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine from 4 March 2024 to 4 March 2025," the statement said.

It is emphasised that the EU will support the Ukrainian people for as long as necessary. The extension of the protection status gives certainty to more than 4 million refugees who have found asylum in the EU.

The temporary protection mechanism was activated on 4 March 2022 - just days after Russian armed forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine - and was automatically extended for another year.

Temporaryprotection is an EU emergency mechanism that is activated in exceptional circumstances of a massive influx of refugees.

The EU Temporary Protection Directive was adopted in 2001 following large-scale population movements that occurred in Europe due to armed conflicts in the Western Balkans, notably from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.