Estonia has approved the extension of temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until 2028
This is reported by ERR.
What the decision entails
The proposal to extend temporary protection was previously put forward by the European Commission. It is intended to provide legal certainty for Ukrainian citizens who were forced to leave the country due to full-scale Russian aggression.
Estonia’s Minister of the Interior, Igor Taro, emphasised that many Ukrainians are still unable to return home safely due to the ongoing war, the occupation of parts of the country and constant Russian attacks.
According to him, extending temporary protection will enable people to continue to reside legally in EU countries, work, study and access social and healthcare services.
Who might be affected by the changes
Alongside the extension of the scheme, the European Commission has proposed changes to the procedure for granting temporary protection to new applicants.
In particular, it is proposed that this status should not be granted to Ukrainian citizens who left the country without legal grounds, despite the restrictions in place relating to military service. However, the changes will not apply to Ukrainians who have already been granted temporary protection in one of the European Union member states. For them, the current conditions will remain unchanged.
The EU is already considering phasing out the mechanism
In Estonia, it is emphasised that EU member states must continue to act in a coordinated manner to support Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, according to Igor Taro, states need to start preparing now for the future phasing out of the temporary protection mechanism. This involves developing solutions that will allow Ukrainians, once the war is over, either to switch to other legal grounds for staying in EU countries or to return to Ukraine when it is safe to do so.
Currently, according to European Union figures, around 4.4 million Ukrainians who have fled the country due to the war are benefiting from temporary protection status.
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