The practical implementation of the decisions to coordinate the reception of refugees from Ukraine will be discussed by European Union Home Affairs Ministers at the extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday afternoon.
Home Affairs Ministers will discuss a concrete action plan for the implementation of the agreed measures, including financial assistance to the countries affected.
It is worth noting that the meeting will also be attended by the Swiss Federal Councillor for Justice and member of the Federal Council, Karin Keller Schutter, and the Norwegian Minister of Justice Emily Enger Mel. Switzerland and Norway are members of the Schengen free movement area without being members of the EU.
In particular, the agenda includes the implementation of practical and financial support to the Member States that have been decided, the monitoring and coordination of the transition of refugees from Ukraine within the European Union, the reception of refugees from Moldova as well as issues related to security at the external borders.
"The numbers arriving in the European Union at the moment are decreasing," said Home Affairs Commissioner Ilva Johansson before the opening of the meeting, referring to about 50 thousand refugees per day compared to the first phases of the crisis when the number stood at 200 thousand.
The next step, according to Ms. She added that the ten-point plan would also include anti-trafficking arrangements and efforts to register unaccompanied minors and vulnerable women, in cooperation with the Ukrainian government.
She also said that there will be a specific register of persons granted temporary protection so that Member States can offer the assistance needed according to need.
Asked about this, Commissioner Johansson said that the largest numbers of refugees are in Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic.
In a statement on his arrival at the meeting, Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas stressed that member states on the front line of receiving refugees "know that they are not alone in dealing with the situation", pointing out that five times as many people as due to the civil war in Yugoslavia and three times as many as due to the civil war in Syria have been displaced.
Referring to the need to implement and safeguard the rights recognised under the protection status, Schinas noted that Interior Ministers will examine and discuss a "ten-point action plan to address the needs of Member States on the frontline" which the Commission has prepared with the French Presidency of the Council.
"Now we are turning the page and turning these rights into a tangible reality. Children must go to school, the sick and the most vulnerable to hospitals. We need people to enter the labour market as soon as possible and we need to find housing for everyone."
Asked whether there is a discussion on the relocation of refugees, Schinas said that through the temporary protection status refugees will be able to move from one member state to another.
Millions of refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion of the country, seeking refuge in EU member states and Moldova.
The EU decided on 4 March to grant temporary protection status to refugees from Ukraine, with the aim of reducing pressure on national asylum systems and harmonising refugee rights across the EU.
Source: KYPE
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