27 organisations welcome EU decision to extend temporary protection for refugees fleeing Ukraine

27 humanitarian, human rights, and refugee rights organisations welcome the decision of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union to extend the Temporary Protection Directive for refugees fleeing Ukraine for an additional year, until 4 March 2025.

This is a positive step, continuing to provide a lifeline for those displaced by the war, and offering them a chance to rebuild their lives by granting continued rights to access to essential services, including healthcare, education, and employment.

The organisations urge the EU and its Member States to work together in ensuring these rights are enjoyed in practice.

For example, a worryingly high number of children from Ukraine who have fled to neighbouring countries are not in school. In Poland, which hosts the highest number of refugees fleeing Ukraine, 56 per cent of children who had fled the country were not studying in Polish schools at the end of the last school year. In Romania, the figure is as low as 10 per cent.

“The extension of the Temporary Protection Directive today is both welcome and necessary. But it is not sufficient: ensuring all children from Ukraine are in school, that all refugees have a safe home and feel included in their host societies requires dedicated effort and sustained resourcing.” said Willy Bergogne, Director of Save the Children Europe... read more in PDF