Ukrainian refugees

Reaction of EU countries to Ukraine’s refusal to extend passports to male refugees

Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced restrictions on the provision of consular services for Ukrainian men of military age who are currently abroad. This means, in particular, that such citizens will not be able to obtain a new foreign passport at consulates or embassies if the validity of the previous document has expired. Most of the countries of the EU and the world that accepted Ukrainian refugees have not yet reacted to the innovations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, some states already have an official position on this issue.

These countries will not extradite men of draft age

Even last year, the Austrian authorities made an official statement that Ukrainian men who received asylum in the country fleeing the war will not be deported.

At the beginning of 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavskyi made the same statement. He noted that the country does not have legislative mechanisms that provide for the extradition of refugees to a country where hostilities are ongoing.

In addition, Hungary expressed its unequivocal position on this issue. They are not going to hand over to the Ukrainian authorities, nor even more so to deport men of conscription age, the Hungarian government said.

Ambiguous position

In Poland, they emphasize that they are ready to assist in the return of men who can defend Ukraine. However, this issue is “ambiguous” and requires an initiative from Kyiv and establishing the procedure for conducting similar procedures.

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“Ukraine really needs to take the initiative here, as this is an ethically ambiguous issue for us. Although, of course, we understand that Ukraine needs its defenders to protect the Motherland,” said the head of the Polish MFA Radoslav Sikorskyi.

After it became known that Ukraine plans to stop providing consular services to men, Warsaw promised to maintain the protection status even for those Ukrainians whose foreign passports have expired.

“Those without passports will be subject to temporary protection. Poland will protect their rights and will not transfer their private data to anyone, including Ukraine,” the head of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasized Marcin Kervinskyi.

Despite this, the Polish authorities do not exclude the possibility of limiting benefits and payments for Ukrainian refugees.

Lithuania promises to facilitate the return of Ukrainians

The head of the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania, Laurinas Kaschyunas, said that he supports the return of Ukrainian citizens of conscription age. He said that the country’s government should consider the possibilities of legislative regulation of the return of Ukrainians fit for military service.

 

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