EU prepares to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians beyond 2027 — but with age restrictions

The European Commission intends to propose extending the temporary protection regime for Ukrainian refugees beyond March 2027, while narrowing the range of people eligible to benefit from it.

This is reported by the German outlet Spiegel, citing a letter from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to EU leaders ahead of the summit, which opened in Brussels and will last two days.

The document states that the extension of protection should not “undermine Ukraine’s capacity for self-defense.” According to Spiegel’s assessment, this wording may signal tighter rules for newly arriving men of conscription age.

Earlier, at a meeting of EU interior ministers, participants backed the exclusion from the temporary protection mechanism of Ukrainians between the ages of 23 and 60. The specific parameters of the future restrictions have not yet been presented.

Western media previously reported that Ukrainian authorities themselves had approached the EU with a request to exclude Ukrainian men of mobilization age from the scope of the temporary protection directive.

In Germany, the initiative to strip military-age Ukrainians of protection has drawn criticism.