EU MINISTERS EXAMINE PROTECTION PLANS FOR UKRAINIAN WAR REFUGEES

LUXEMBOURG, June 13 (Bernama-dpa) -- European Union (EU) justice and home affairs ministers are set to discuss plans to extend emergency rules to shelter people who fled the war in Ukraine until at least March 2026, in two days of meetings in Luxembourg starting on Thursday, German news agency (dpa) reported. 

Ukrainians who fled to the EU after the full-scale invasion of their country by Russia in 2022 were granted immediate protection after EU-member states set up a temporary regime designed for cases of mass influxes of people.

The proposal is designed to avoid the lengthy national asylum-seeking procedures required to process large numbers of displaced people. Extensions of the temporary rules are possible for up to one year.

In addition, people under temporary protection are entitled to social benefits, housing, access to education and work permits, among other things.

The existing regime was set to end in March 2025. The European Commission announced the planned extension on Tuesday. 

The commission reported that almost 4.2 million Ukrainians are currently residing in the EU under these rules, with Germany hosting the most people at 1.2 million. 

EU justice and home affairs ministers are also set to examine a strategy from the commission to roll out controversial new migration and asylum rules in the EU. The commission's strategy is to help the bloc's countries implement the legal system by mid-2026. 

A major part of the commission's plan is a large IT system called Eurodac, in which the data of people seeking asylum is to be stored and processed to better monitor applicants between EU countries. 

-- BERNAMA-dpa