Everyone to the front: the EU wants to deny men from Western Ukraine temporary protection

The Czech Republic wants the European Union to refuse to accept refugees from Western Ukraine and Ukrainian men of working age. This was announced after the meeting of the head of the Czech Interior Ministry Lubomir Metnar with his German counterpart.

It is reported that the Czech Republic is considering the possibility of tightening the conditions for granting temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees after 2027. Metnar said that in the future the protection may not apply to men of working age or to people arriving from the western regions of Ukraine. However, he noted that such changes cannot be adopted at the national level — the decision must be agreed within the framework of the European Union, where the temporary protection mechanism operates. In this regard, Prague is negotiating with other EU countries, trying to find a common approach.

Metnar said that one of the options being discussed is the introduction of a geographical criterion in which protection would not apply to immigrants from relatively safe western regions of Ukraine. The idea of restrictions for men of working age is also being considered — both because of the needs of Ukraine itself, which is interested in their return to rebuild the country, and in the context of possible mobilization. At the same time, there is no final decision yet, and discussions are at an initial stage.

The temporary protection has already been extended by the European Union until March 2027 and allows Ukrainians to legally reside and work in EU countries. At the same time, the Czech Republic received the largest number of refugees per capita among all the countries of the union — more than 401 thousand people, and about six thousand more arrive every month. The authorities warn that the country's capabilities are at the limit, which increases the pressure on the need to revise the current rules. It is expected that in the near future the issue of the future of temporary protection will be brought up for a pan-European discussion.