Portugal’s granting of temporary protection to those who have fled the war in Ukraine, including non-Ukrainians, was called a ‘promising practice’ in a report published by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on Thursday.
Following EU Commission directives encouraging member states to consider extending the “temporary protection mechanism” to non-Ukrainian third-country nationals, Portugal extended it “to all persons fleeing Ukraine who have legally resided there permanently or temporarily and cannot return to their country of origin.”
“Implications of Ukraine’s war on fundamental rights in the EU”, which looks at how the Union and its member states have dealt with the sudden influx of refugees due to the conflict, is the main chapter of the FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2023 for last year.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, “by the end of the year, approximately 17 million border crossings from Ukraine to EU member states were recorded, mostly by women and children,” the report indicates.
In total, almost four million people who fled the embattled country enjoyed temporary protection in the EU by the end of the year, this being the first time the EU has activated this Directive since its adoption in 2001.
According to data released in early April, in Portugal, over 59,000 temporary protection permits were granted to people who fled Ukraine since the invasion, including 14,190 minors.
Also, at the level of information of “potential beneficiaries of temporary protection” required by this Directive, Portugal appears alongside Austria, Slovenia, Greece and Romania about those member states that “have intensified their efforts to inform and support” refugees.
The FRA Fundamental Rights Report 2023 covers all 27 member states and the Republics of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia.
(By Paula Almeida, edited by Shrikesh Laxmidas | Lusa.pt)
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