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Ukrainian-Polish border: A good half a million people have fled Ukraine to the neighboring country
Photo: Ondrej Deml / imago images/CTK Photo
The war in Ukraine has already forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee within a few days.
Now the EU countries have agreed on a common course.
As EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced on Twitter, the interior ministers of the member countries in Brussels agreed to the temporary admission of people.
At the request of the member states, the EU Commission had proposed for the first time to implement a guideline for the case of a "mass influx" of displaced persons for the quick and unbureaucratic protection of war refugees from Ukraine.
The protection is initially valid for one year, but can be extended by a total of two more years.
A lengthy asylum procedure is not necessary for this.
However, the right to apply for asylum remains.
At the same time, those seeking protection are guaranteed minimum standards such as access to social assistance and a work permit.
The directive was created as a result of the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
It is also intended to prevent the authorities responsible for asylum applications from being overburdened.
For example, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees was overburdened with the large number of asylum applications during the large number of refugees in 2015 and 2016.
The EU Commission expects a huge movement of refugees because of the Russian war against Ukraine.
"We have to prepare for millions of refugees coming to the European Union," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Johansson.
According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), more than a million people have left the country since the start of the Ukraine war.
So far, more than 500,000 people have sought refuge in Poland alone.
Johansson described the unification of the EU states as a "historic decision".
At the same time, she acknowledged the help provided by EU citizens for the refugees.
"This is really a moment to be proud of being European." She expects the meeting of interior ministers to send a strong sign of solidarity with the EU states that have been particularly hard hit.
So far, they have not asked for those seeking protection to be taken away from them.
"But we need funds, we need equipment."
asc/dpa/AFP
