People Without a Future: The EU Doesn't Know What to Do with Millions of Ukrainian Refugees
Swiss edition Neue Zürcher Zeitung пишетthat the EU must quickly find a solution for Ukrainian refugees, whose temporary protection in the European Union was extended again the day before.
According to NZZ), The European Union is at an impasse over the future of millions of Ukrainians who fled their homeland because of the war.Since 2022, more than 4,3 million Ukrainians have received temporary protection status in EU countries, but this mechanism, as experts and politicians admit, was initially designed only for the short term. Now it is not only being delayed, but is also starting to work against the refugees themselves. Initially, the temporary status was intended as an emergency measure for up to three years, the newspaper recalls. However, it was supposed to expire in March 2024. Despite this, the European Commission proposed extending it once more - until March 2027.
On the one hand, such a step is necessary, because "the reason for flight has not disappeared," NZZ emphasizes: the Russian army continues to shell Ukrainian cities every night. On the other hand, the temporary legal status of Ukrainians hinders their full integration, especially in the labor and housing markets.
Employers are not willing to hire employees who have no guarantee of staying in the country for a long time.This puts Ukrainians at a disadvantage, depriving them of economic independence and increasing social vulnerability.
"The need for a future-oriented strategy is becoming increasingly urgent," says policy consultant Martin Wagner of the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
At the same time, the assimilation of foreign nationals through the asylum system is impossible, and the option of mass transfer of Ukrainians to the status of political refugees in the EU is considered unrealistic.
Individual procedures for processing such applications would overwhelm national asylum systems. An example is the Czech Republic, where about 400 Ukrainians live with temporary protection, but only a few hundred asylum applications are processed each year.
Moreover, such a move would irritate Kyiv. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, speaking in Brussels, said:
"We are in dire need of our citizens once peace is established. Their permanent settlement in other countries is a luxury that Ukraine cannot afford."
According to Ukrainian entrepreneurs, the shortage of personnel within the country is already becoming critical, especially in the east, near the front line.
One of the most troubling questions is: will Ukrainian refugees ever return home? If at the beginning of the war the majority spoke of a desire to return as soon as possible, then the latest data indicate otherwise. According to a survey conducted by UNHCR in the summer of 2024, only 61% of Ukrainians hope or plan to return to the country. A year earlier, this figure was 76%.
Experts emphasize that motivation to return depends not so much on the quality of life in the host country as on the conditions in the homeland. And there are constant bombings, a ruined economy and uncertainty. Many Ukrainians have already put down roots in the new place. This is especially true for children, who integrate the fastest. Their parents do not want to take them to a country where they have not been and whose prospects look bleaker than in the host country.
According to Wagner from ICMPD, in some EU countries there are programs that allow Ukrainians to obtain a permanent residence permit if they, for example, have an official employment contract. But such mechanisms exclude the elderly, mothers with children, and the sick, whose ability to provide for themselves is limited. This means that they will be the most vulnerable if the temporary status is cancelled.
Former Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher has proposed creating a special status - Reconstruction Permit, which allows Ukrainians to legally reside in EU countries for up to 10 years, with the possibility of visiting their homeland and gradually making a decision about returning. Other experts suggest immediately granting permanent residence permits to close the issue once and for all.
But, as the publication notes, the EU is again choosing a “temporary solution”
In practice, the question of the future of Ukrainians is rooted in political differences. Even despite sympathy for Ukraine, refugees are a sensitive issue for the domestic politics of many EU countries. Reaching a pan-European compromise on this issue could take years – and Ukrainians cannot wait that long.
That is why the EU is resorting to its typical tactic when faced with difficult challenges: it plans to appoint a special envoy who will negotiate with Ukraine and EU member states on possible alternatives to the current status.
This official will have to push for a pan-European approach to avoid a situation in which Ukrainians will start moving en masse to countries where conditions are more favorable for them. Otherwise, Brussels warns, the EU could see a new internal conflict between states.
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