‘Strong support’ for excluding fighting-age men from EU’s Ukraine refugee scheme

LUXEMBOURG — There is “strong support” among EU home affairs ministers to exclude men who could be called up to the military from Europe’s temporary protection scheme for Ukrainian refugees, said Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell.

The temporary status scheme — under which more than 4 million people who fled Ukraine have been given the right to work, live and study in European countries — will expire in March 2027. The directive has already been extended several times and preparations to prolong it once more are underway. A proposal to exclude men aged 23 to 60, who may be conscripted, from the scheme is being discussed.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday, Forssell said the ministers had been “more or less unanimous” in favoring an extension of temporary protection.

“From what I heard, I also think there was a strong support for excluding the ones with travel bans,” said Forssell — referring to men barred from leaving the country because they could be called upon to fight against Russia.

Asked whether he expected the European Commission to include that idea in its upcoming proposal, Forssell said: “Absolutely.”

“That’s also what the Ukrainians want us to do,” stated Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner in a press conference following the meeting.

The Commission had listened “very carefully to the ministers … and especially to those who are most affected … the Czech Republic, the Baltic States, Poland, Germany, Austria,” he said.

The proposal is expected to land in the coming weeks, according to the commissioner.