As announced on 27 February, the European Commission proposed to Member States on Wednesday 2 March to activate the 2001 directive offering immediate temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees fleeing war who have arrived in the EU.
Under this directive, they will receive an immediate residence permit and will be able to work, access school or health care and move freely within Schengen. It also accompanied this proposal with a Communication on how to exercise external border controls in this exceptional situation.
Both decisions will be submitted to the EU27 interior ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday 3 March. The latter could give their political endorsement to the activation of the directive. At an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on 27 February, ministers expressed strong support for the use of this tool, which has never been used in the EU.
“There was a strong majority, we will have to check that” on Thursday, a diplomatic source said on 2 March, hoping that there would be unanimity, even if only a qualified majority is required.
According to the UNHCR, nearly 800,000 people have already fled Ukraine to date. According to AFP mapping, more than 377,000 refugees have arrived in Poland, more than 89,000 in Hungary, more than 54,000 in Slovakia and more than 38,000 in Romania. Moldova, for its part, has already received over 65,000.
The Commission justified the use of this directive by the fact that these people all come from the same geographical area, in contrast to the “more mixed flows” observed in 2015, according to one source.
With a visa-free regime for short stays in the EU, Ukrainians could also find themselves in an illegal situation after 90 days. The directive, which would give them 1 year’s protection, renewable over 3 years, would resolve this.
The directive is also suitable for a population which, in principle, would not be applying for asylum in the EU and does not want permanent status. This will ensure that asylum systems are not put under pressure.
The directive also provides for a system of voluntary sharing of the reception of refugees between Member States. Capacity figures should therefore accompany the adoption of this directive.
Racial discrimination
In addition, the Commission had to remind people on Wednesday that border guards in eastern EU countries must permit entry to anyone fleeing Ukraine, regardless of race or nationality. It was in response to a number of testimonies from people fleeing the war, particularly Africans, who had faced bullying by Polish border guards because of their skin colour or nationality.
The African Union even issued official condemnation of these practices earlier this week.
Poland has “very firmly rejected” these accusations, an EU source said on 2 March. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, spoke on the same day of “disinformation”.
The Commission did not want to say more on Wednesday, highlighting that all people should be treated equally, regardless of their colour or passport.
Guidelines on border controls
The Communication focuses on measures to simplify border controls. Border guards may temporarily relax border checks for certain categories of people. The guidelines define the criteria as follows.
The nationality of the traveller (especially if the third country is subject to visa requirement or exemption), the status of stay in Ukraine of third country nationals who do not have Ukrainian citizenship, the vulnerability and age of travellers, any available information on security threats, the existence of a biometric passport or a valid travel document, in general, are some of the criteria to be considered.
“Member States may also decide to carry out border checks during or after the transport of travellers to a place of safety, and not at the border crossing point”. Third-country nationals may also enter the territory of a Member State, even if they do not meet all the entry conditions (if they do not have a valid passport or visa).
It is also about allowing crossings at temporary border crossing points. Finally, the text advocates relaxing the customs code so that Ukrainians can come with personal effects (cash) and their pets.
Link to the proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/l7 and https://aeur.eu/f/l6 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)