The European Union has extended temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until March 2026, the EU Council said on Tuesday, UNN reports.
Details
"Today, the EU Council decided to extend temporary protection until March 4, 2026 for more than 4 million Ukrainians fleeing Russia's aggressive war," the statement reads.
The temporary protection mechanism was launched in the EU on March 4, 2022.
"Today's decision to extend does not change the decision of March 2022 on the categories of persons covered by temporary protection," the statement said.
What is temporary protection?
Temporary protection provides immediate and collective protection to a large group of displaced persons who arrive in the EU and are unable to return to their country of origin.
This system reduces the burden on national asylum systems, as applications do not have to be examined individually. People granted temporary protection have the same rights throughout the EU. These rights include:
- residence;
- access to the labor market and housing;
- medical care;
- social assistance;
- access to education for children.
The EU Temporary Protection Act defines minimum standards of protection. The actual level of assistance may vary from one Member State to another.
Next steps
In accordance with their national procedures, Member States may need to adopt additional implementing acts to formalize the extension of temporary protection.