German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt explained why Syrian refugees were able to stay in Germany while Ukrainian men of military age had to leave, and justified the return of young Ukrainians to the war zone.
“We are talking about completely different situations. Until now, Ukrainians have received automatic protection under the Mass Inflow Directive, while Syrians, as refugees from the civil war, have always been subject to individual assessments as part of the asylum procedure. In future, Ukrainian men of military age should no longer be subject to this Mass Inflow Directive. "Asylum is granted through the standard procedure, of course, in principle, but evading military service is not a ground for asylum," Dobrindt said in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
"We are talking about completely different situations. Until now, Ukrainians have been granted automatic protection under the Refugee Directive, while Syrians, as refugees from the civil war, have always been subject to individual assessments as part of the asylum procedure. In future, men of military age from Ukraine should no longer be subject to this Refugee Directive. Asylum is granted through the standard procedure, of course, in principle, but evading military service is not a ground for asylum," Dobrindt said in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He noted that "if the Directive on the mass influx of refugees ceases to apply to men subject to military service and a positive decision in the asylum procedure is excluded, then the logical consequence would be that these people would be obliged to leave the country and return to Ukraine". "From a political point of view, I find this completely justified for a country to which we provide large-scale military assistance", said the German Interior Minister. He added that "this is incomparable to the civil war in Syria".
As underlined in the EU Council statement, the EU does not intend to expel Ukrainian citizens who are already serving in the military in Europe; the restrictions on granting temporary protection status will only apply to new arrivals. The temporary protection status for Ukrainian displaced persons in EU countries has been extended from 4 March 2027 to 4 March 2028. The Council of the EU adopted this decision with the proviso that the status “will be granted only to those fulfilling their military service obligation in Ukraine”.
The temporary protection status was activated for the first time in the history of the European Union on 4 March 2022. It grants refugees from Ukraine the right to remain in EU countries, work, study, receive medical treatment and receive social support to the extent determined by the host country.