Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to extend the protection status for Ukrainian war refugees beyond next March. “I will discuss and decide on this shortly with the other EU interior ministers,” she explains to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the EU member states jointly activated the so-called temporary protection directive for the first time in view of the large number of refugees. This regulation ensures that in the event of a large refugee movement, people receive a residence permit quickly and unbureaucratically without an asylum procedure. The refugees can work in Germany and other countries, have health insurance and can send their children to school.
The directive has already been automatically extended twice by six months each, and there are no plans for a third extension. For a further extension beyond March 4th, the EU interior ministers must vote on a proposal from the EU Commission.