Millions of Ukrainians Fleeing: How Is the EU Dealing With It?

by Sofia Bertolaja, 6 minutes

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has triggered Europe’s largest so-called migrant crisis of the twenty-first century. According to the United Nations, migration from Ukraine has been the fastest-growing refugee emergency in Europe since World War II. Thousands of residents have fled bombarded cities in the country. More than four million Ukrainians have left their home country and sought asylum in EU countries. Almost half of them have moved to Poland. 

The European Community should act fast and effectively to counteract this humanitarian disaster. Given the circumstances, it is necessary to ask: what is the role of the EU in dealing with this so-called migrant crisis? 

EU Responses 

As fears of a humanitarian disaster grew in the first days of March, the Commission asked the EU’s 27 Member States to activate a unique mechanism that would protect all Ukrainians for three years. Some European countries have reacted quickly and uniformly to the escalating refugee situation by activating the Temporary Protection Directive, inactive since the wars in Yugoslavia and Kosovo in 2001.

“Europe stands by those in need of protection,” the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, stated in a speech on the measures. “All those fleeing Putin’s bombs are welcome in Europe. We will protect those seeking shelter and help those looking for a safe way home.”

The Temporary Protection Directive 

During a meeting on March 4, EU ministers unanimously agreed to provide temporary protection to refugees from Ukraine since millions of people have left the country. 

“We did reach an agreement, a historic agreement, that will allow the Member States of the EU to grant individuals fleeing from the Ukrainian conflict temporary protection,” French Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, said at the press conference after the Council’s meeting on March 4. He added that “this is a firm commitment of the EU to show its solidarity with the Ukrainian people given this unjustified war”.

Ministers activated Council Directive 2001/55/EC of July 2001, which defines basic requirements for providing temporary protection in the case of a large-scale inflow of displaced people. The measure lasts until March 4, 2023. However, if the reasons for granting temporary protection persist, it will be automatically extended for six months twice, until March 4, 2024. Overall, the Council Directive specifies measures to promote a balance of efforts among the Member States in accepting such people and bearing the repercussions of their actions. The following emergency plan gives the right to Ukrainian migrants to reside and work in the EU for up to three years. Moreover, it provides Ukrainian citizens with access to healthcare, housing, and education without going through long asylum processes for up to one year. That status might be extended for another two years if the war persists or refugees cannot return safely.

Before, Ukrainian residents could stay in the EU for up to 90 days without needing a visa. However, the historical change in EU legislation extends the right to remain, even when the 90-day period has expired. In addition, the EU seeks to prevent overburdening EU asylum procedures by removing the necessity for Ukrainian nationals and permanent residents to apply for asylum.

People who do not have Ukrainian citizenship or the right to permanent residency – a group including many international students – will still be granted access to the EU. Stateless people and third-country nationals can apply for international protection or legal migratory status depending on their situation. People can receive aid to be repatriated to their place of origin if they are secure in their home country and can return.

More European Initiatives  

On March 28, Interior ministers from across the EU gathered for an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council. Ministers considered several measures to help strengthen EU cooperation. Proposals considered include using the EU-LISA agency, which coordinates the IT systems governing asylum and migration policy, to improve registration processes across EU countries, developing EU transport hubs, and devising an EU anti-trafficking plan. Ministers also proposed more help for Moldova, a non-EU country bordering Ukraine on the frontline of the so-called migrant crisis.

Moreover, in April 2022, the EU put in place more than EUR 20 billion of EU funds to help Ukrainian refugees. This funding will ensure that the Member States hosting refugees have the resources to fulfil rising housing, education, and healthcare demands. Furthermore, the Council enacted a rule on Cohesion Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) on April 4, 2022, enabling the rapid reallocation of cohesion policy financing (around EUR 16.5 billion). The Council also approved new regulations that would let the Member States contribute more to the 2021-2027 asylum migration and integration fund. Finally, on April 6, the Council adopted a preliminary rule authorizing an additional EUR 3.5 billion to be disbursed immediately under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU), one of the significant post-pandemic EU public investment programs.

Conclusion 

The EU has taken tangible steps to assist Ukraine and its neighbours in providing safety to refugees escaping the conflict, but the road ahead will be hard. Previous refugee influxes, such as the one in 2015 when over a million people crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe, sparked political disputes that exposed the EU’s fragility. This time, the bloc is at its best, demonstrating a blend of compassion and practicality that few would have predicted. Although the current events pose a significant challenge to the European community, they have made apparent how the humanitarian response to such an emergency can and should be. Warm food, blankets, wi-fi passwords, free Uber rides, and lodging in people’s homes are offered to migrants in nations like Poland rather than tear gas and batons. 

“The reaction of EU states to the refugee crisis in Ukraine is extraordinary,” said Jeff Crisp at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre. “Yet in one way, it almost institutionalizes the difference between the reaction to the arrival of Ukrainians to the arrival of Iraqis or Syrians or other groups of asylum seekers at European borders.”

Even though we applaud the EU’s response to this humanitarian emergency, we must not overlook the inequality and unfairness inherent. For example, why have the reactions to Ukraine’s so-called refugee crisis differed from those to the 2015 migrant crisis? Why have certain European nations not shown the same solidarity with Syrian and Afghani people as they did with Ukrainians?