EU countries will not expel Ukrainian refugees forcibly. Currently, there are 4.5 million Ukrainians under temporary protection in the EU, European Commissioner for Migration Ilva Johansson told in a commentary to Radio Liberty, UNN reports.
"This is not possible under the Temporary Protection Directive (a document regulating the status of Ukrainian refugees in the EU - ed.)," said European Commissioner for Migration Ilva Johansson.
When asked if the EU would help Ukraine return its men of military age from abroad, Johansson said that no one would be forcibly expelled from the EU.
The European Commissioner also denied that Kyiv was pressuring the EU to return Ukrainian refugees home.
I have never felt such pressure from either Kyiv or the Ukrainian government. I must say that we have excellent cooperation and a very, very good dialog, and it is a real exchange of ideas. We work very closely together, and it works very well
Johansson pointed out that there are currently 4.5 million Ukrainians in the EU who are covered by the Temporary Protection Directive. The numbers have been growing over the past eighteen months.
"The increase is about 10 thousand per week. And we also see people returning. Nevertheless, the number of people covered by the Temporary Protection Directive is constantly growing. This is not a sharp increase. But there is an increase," the European Commissioner said .
She pointed to a possible change in the status of Ukrainian refugees from temporary to permanent. This is something that is currently being discussed with member states.
We have Ukrainians who would like to stay in the EU and have a stable residence permit. We have others who are preparing to return to Ukraine, and we also need to support those who want to do so and be part of its recovery. So we have to prepare for both [cases - ed.) And the member states are very active in this discussion. We all, and they, are looking for a pan-European solution.