The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, briefed members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE), on Monday 27 June, on the situation of the approximately 3 million Ukrainian refugees in the EU who benefit from the temporary protection directive. The college will also discuss new proposals on 29 June to make better use of the €24 billion in funds released so far.
While more than 7 million people have crossed the EU’s borders from Ukraine since 24 February, “3 million people have left since then”, the Commissioner said. Of these 7 million, 6 million were Ukrainians and 1 million were Member State nationals.
Just over 200,000 third-country nationals also left Ukraine to join the EU, half of whom again returned to their country of origin. The other half of the nationals applied for temporary protection.
The Commissioner also took stock of the ‘migratory’ pressure on Member States, indicating that Cyprus is currently under the greatest pressure, all refugees included. As Cyprus is the 8th largest destination country for Ukrainian refugees, the total share of refugees is “4% of its total population”.
The Czech Republic is the country with the most Ukrainian refugees in relation to its population (3.4%), followed by Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia. Conversely, the countries least affected are Italy, Romania, Malta, Greece and France.
Another element given by the Commissioner: 23,000 unaccompanied minors from Ukraine are registered in the EU, “which is very high”. The Commissioner also explained that at least six Member States had opened investigations in connection with the trafficking of these Ukrainian refugees. “Twenty to twenty-five cases” have been recorded.
The Commissioner has been asked many times about the financial support that the EU and Member States provide to local authorities, NGOs or families hosting refugees.
The Spanish Socialist, Javier Moreno Sánchez, stressed the cost to families with “inflation and rising energy costs”. The French MEP, Fabienne Keller (Renew Europe) asked what happens to the 70% of the funds released to take care of refugees when only 30% is set aside for NGOs.
New proposals on Wednesday
The Commission “will make new proposals on Wednesday”, the Commissioner said. The aim will be to “maximise” the use of these funds, which come mainly from cohesion.
Other MEPs were also concerned about the differential treatment of refugees, whether from Ukraine or other regions, and the discrimination faced by Roma refugees, as pointed out by the German MEP, Erik Marquardt (Greens/EFA). In particular, the Commissioner said that she had recently spoken to the Polish authorities, who had “given her guarantees”.
Request for an enquiry into the deaths in Melilla
The LIBE Committee also paid tribute to the 23 people who died over the weekend while trying to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla. The European Parliament could hold a plenary debate next week. Some MEPs, such as Pernando Barrena (The Left, Spain), called for an investigation on both the Moroccan and Spanish sides. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)