The European Union is preparing the biggest changes since 2022 to the Directive on Temporary Protection for Ukrainian refugees. If the new rules are adopted, Ukrainian citizens who apply for temporary protection status after they come into force will have to provide a document proving they are not subject to mobilization in Ukraine. This is reported by the Polish publication Rzeczpospolita, reports UNN.
According to the publication, the European Commission plans to present the changes as early as July. They will only apply to new applicants, while Ukrainians who have already received temporary protection in EU countries will retain their status.
As Rzeczpospolita reported, Poland's Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Maciej Duszczyk said that to obtain temporary protection, Ukrainian citizens will have to provide a certificate issued by the Ukrainian authorities confirming that they are not subject to mobilization.
"Work on the changes is already being finalized. Poland supports these decisions," Duszczyk stated.
According to him, the requirement will apply to both men and women, but will not affect those Ukrainians who already enjoy temporary protection in European Union countries.
As Rzeczpospolita notes, Ukraine itself appealed to EU countries with a proposal to change the rules at the beginning of June. The publication recalls that earlier Kyiv allowed men aged 18–22 to travel abroad for study and work. According to the Polish side, in the first three months after this, over 121,000 Ukrainian men of this age category arrived in Poland, and about 50,000 of them applied for temporary protection.
Analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) Krzysztof Nieczypor believes that in this way the Ukrainian authorities seek to achieve mobilization goals while shifting political responsibility for introducing the relevant restrictions to Western countries.
Currently, about 4.3 million Ukrainian citizens enjoy temporary protection in European Union countries. The largest number of Ukrainian refugees is in Germany – about 1.2 million people, as well as in Poland – almost 960,000.
According to the Ministry of Digitization of Poland, as of mid-June, over 218,000 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 65 who enjoy temporary protection lived in the country.
The new directive is expected to be adopted in July, but it will only come into force in March 2027 – after the expiration of the current temporary protection regime.
In addition, according to Rzeczpospolita, Poland is preparing changes to its citizenship legislation. In particular, it is planned to increase the minimum residence period for naturalization to eight years, introduce a mandatory exam in the Polish language and knowledge of history and constitutional order, as well as a requirement to sign a declaration of loyalty to Poland. According to the draft law's authors, this should create legal mechanisms to respond in cases of activities by naturalized citizens against the security or national interests of the state.
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