European Commission may restrict temporary protection for draft-age Ukrainian men
Von der Leyen weighs Ukrainian refugee limits (Photo: REUTERS/Raquel Cunha)
An intention to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians in the EU while simultaneously considering restrictions for draft-age men was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spiegel reported on June 17.
The publication cited her letter to EU leaders ahead of the European Union summit.
Brussels will propose extending the temporary protection mechanism for Ukrainian refugees, but its conditions may be altered to avoid "weakening Ukraine's capacity for self-defense."
Although specific details of the upcoming initiative have not yet been released, the document's wording suggests that it primarily targets draft-age men. Earlier, several EU member states, including Germany, advocated for making it harder to grant protection to Ukrainian men aged 23 to 60.
Ukrainians fleeing the war enjoy protection under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive for mass influxes of displaced persons. As a result, their applications are not processed individually, and residency rights are granted automatically. The current mechanism is valid until March 4, 2027.
European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner earlier stated that the European Commission will soon present a proposal to further extend this regime. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, over 4.3 million Ukrainian citizens have received temporary protection status in EU countries.
On June 1, Euractiv reported that European countries were considering excluding draft-age men who left Ukraine illegally from the extended temporary protection program.
On June 2, Corinna Ullrich, a representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, confirmed that these discussions were taking place. She clarified that these restrictions will not apply to Ukrainians already under temporary protection, which includes over 1.15 million Ukrainian male refugees in the EU.
The decision to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees may be adopted in July or as early as September 2026.
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