The European Commission is expected to unveil the most significant overhaul of the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainian refugees since it was introduced in 2022, with new eligibility rules expected to affect future applicants, including both men and women.
According to Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, the proposed changes would require Ukrainian citizens applying for temporary protection to present an official certificate issued by the Ukrainian authorities confirming that they are not subject to military mobilization.
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Poland supports the planned reforms.
“Work on the changes is nearing completion. Poland supports them,” Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk, who oversees migration policy, told the newspaper.
The amendments are expected to be announced in July but would only take effect in March 2027, when the current EU temporary protection scheme expires.
According to Duszczyk, the new restrictions would apply only to Ukrainians seeking temporary protection after the new rules enter into force, not to the approximately 4.3 million Ukrainians already covered by the directive across the European Union.
The proposed requirements would apply to both male and female applicants.
Ukraine itself reportedly requested the changes at the beginning of June, in what analysts describe as an effort to strengthen the country’s mobilization policy.
The request came less than a year after President Volodymyr Zelensky lifted restrictions on foreign travel for Ukrainian men aged 18-22, allowing them to study and work abroad.
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According to Polish authorities, more than 121,000 Ukrainian men in that age group entered Poland during the first three months after the policy change, with many later continuing to Germany.
Within several weeks, about 50,000 Ukrainians applied for temporary protection in Poland, Rzeczpospolita reported.
Ukraine had previously urged European governments to deport Ukrainian men who had allegedly left the country illegally by bribing officials, but those efforts did not gain support.
According to Eurostat data cited by Rzeczpospolita, 4.3 million Ukrainians currently benefit from temporary protection across the EU, including 1.2 million in Germany and approximately 960,000 in Poland.
Adult men account for 26.6% of all beneficiaries, meaning roughly 1.15 million Ukrainian men currently hold temporary protection status across the bloc.
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