The Diplomat
Spain continues to be the fifth EU country with the highest number of concessions of temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens since the beginning of the Russian invasion, with more than 187,200, as reported yesterday by the Government on the occasion of the recent decision of the Member States to extend the temporary protection for another year.
The acting Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, Felix Bolaños, yesterday chaired a new meeting of the Situation Committee, which analyzed the evolution of the war in Ukraine and its repercussions and reported on the work of the Committee’s five working groups on cybersecurity, sanctions, energy, reconstruction of Ukraine and temporary protection of displaced persons.
During the meeting, as reported by the Ministry, “the humanitarian commitment of the EU Member States in agreeing to extend the temporary protection for another year, from March 2024 to March 2025” was highlighted. With this measure, adopted last week by EU interior ministers, immediate protection will continue to be provided to displaced persons, including access to residence, labor market, medical care, social assistance and education.
Currently, there are more than four million people from Ukraine with temporary protection in EU countries. Spain, according to Government data, continues to be the fifth country with the highest number of temporary protection grants, with more than 187,200 (the top three are Germany, with more than one million; Poland, with almost one million; and the Czech Republic, with more than 300,000). In addition, more than 84,300 people have been registered in the National Health System since the beginning of the conflict and more than 19,700 have been registered in Spain.
The temporary protection mechanism was activated on March 4, 2022, just a few days after the Russian armed forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and was automatically extended for one year. With this new extension, the mechanism is extended from March 4, 2024 to March 4, 2025.
Temporary protection is an EU emergency mechanism that is activated in exceptional circumstances of mass influx of people. The EU Temporary Protection Directive was adopted in 2001, following the massive displacements that took place in Europe due to the armed conflicts in the Western Balkans, in particular from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
The mechanism provides immediate and collective protection (i.e. without the need to examine individual applications) to displaced persons who are not in a position to return to their country of origin. The aim is to relieve pressure on national asylum systems and to enable displaced persons to enjoy harmonized rights across the EU, including residence rights, access to the labor market and housing, medical care, social assistance and access to education for minors.
