This is the first time that Member States have decided by qualified majority to activate the 2001 Directive on the Admission of Displaced Persons.
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Posted on 03/03/2022 18:35
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Gerald Darmanin has immediately welcomes the “historic” decision. At a meeting in Brussels on Thursday (March 3rd), European interior ministers agreed to provide “temporary protection” in the European Union to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
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This is the first time that Member States have decided by qualified majority (at least 15 countries out of 27, representing 65% of the population) to activate the 2001 directive on the admission of displaced persons.
It allows Ukrainian refugees to stay in the EU for up to three years, work there, have access to the school system and receive medical care. Until now, holders of Ukrainian passports could stay without a visa in the European Union for only 90 days. At this stage, there is no official plan for the distribution of refugees among EU countries.
Ministers did not immediately clarify whether the measure would also apply to refugees fleeing Ukraine but do not have Ukrainian citizenship. This issue divides the Member States: some, such as Poland and Austria, are really against it.
Austrian Minister Gerhard Carner expressed his reluctance on the issue on Thursday morning. “Apart from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, many countries are worried about this, including Austria (…), there is no point in involving these third-country nationals, this is another system that should apply to these people,” he said. .
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