This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
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How EU temporary protection fails Ukrainian asylum seekers

By:   []

Date: 2022-04 

Do you want to carry a temporary identity card in your pocket, live in temporary housing, or work on a temporary contract? Permanent insecurity is what that means: I know this both as an immigrant and as a researcher into the experiences of Syrian refugees living in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

European countries – overwhelmingly Poland – have accepted millions of displaced Ukrainians in the past two weeks. It’s a genuine, timely and much-needed humanitarian response and gesture of solidarity. On 4 March, the European Council (EC) agreed unanimously to introduce temporary protection for the masses fleeing the war.

This scheme has its legal basis in the 2001 Temporary Protection directive, drawn up in the aftermath of the Balkans conflicts of the 1990s to prepare an emergency response when a large number of asylum claims make individual processing under the 1951 Refugee Convention impossible.

First, the good news: temporary protection will give Ukrainians the right to stay for one to three years in an EU member state and get work, plus access to education, housing and medical assistance.

It is wise that the EU quickly decided to grant a group-based legal status to Ukrainians. It means that member states will not ask each individual Ukrainian to undergo a lengthy asylum process. The temporary protection decision will bind all member states, providing harmonised rights while also impeding potential resistance from members or divergent categorisations regarding Ukrainians. It may also alleviate potential pressure on national asylum-processing systems. The temporary protection system is just what Ukrainians need right now.

Now the bad news: we don’t know when this temporary protection will end. We don’t know whether people will be sent back to Ukraine or allowed to stay permanently in their host country. The best we can do is to look at what has happened when this temporary protection instrument has been used before.
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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pandemic-border/ukraine-refugee-asylum-europe-temporary-protection/
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