Ukraine itself asked the EU to exclude men aged 23-60 from protection — DW
The Deputy Minister for Migration of Cyprus — the presiding country — Nicholas Ioannides stated that currently all EU member states agree that the directive on temporary protection (DTP) for Ukrainians should be extended until March 2028, however, "many countries" advocate for "changes in the scope of protection under certain conditions." He said this during the concluding conference on June 4 after the meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council.
According to him, the EU Council meeting demonstrated "unity in support of Ukraine."
"I believe this will allow reaching an agreement for the benefit of the Ukrainian people, and at the same time, it is a decision that will not put pressure on member states hosting Ukrainians," he said.
As DW writes, Ukraine initiated the exclusion of men of conscription age from the EU temporary protection system.
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner stated that one of the exceptions discussed at the meeting is the exclusion of men of mobilization age from 23 to 60 years from the scope of the DTP.
"This is also what Ukrainians are asking us to do," he said.
Brunner added that during the discussion, participants "listened carefully to ministers from countries" that have accepted the most Ukrainian refugees — the Czech Republic, Baltic countries, Poland, Germany, Austria.
He promised that in the coming weeks the European Commission will present a proposal "on how to move forward and what the further path regarding temporary protection" for Ukrainians will be. The European Commission's position must be approved by EU member states by qualified majority.
As previously written by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", Poland is promoting the idea of limiting EU temporary protection for Ukrainian men of conscription age. However the European Commission stated that Ukrainians already under temporary protection in the EU will not lose their status.
Additionally, Interior ministers of European Union countries plan to consider the possibility of limiting the automatic granting of temporary protection to Ukrainian men. Austria advocates ending such status for men aged 23 to 60.
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