The EU’s decision to offer unprecedented rights and freedoms to refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine less than a month after the war began was widely celebrated.
An exceptional measure known as the temporary protection directive, designed to provide immediate protection for at least one year in the event of a mass influx of refugees, was invoked by the EU on 4 March 2022 – for the first time in the bloc’s history. It would mean that “all those fleeing the war” would be granted rights to schools, medical care and employment for one year, the European commission said. “All those fleeing Putin's bombs are welcome in Europe,” President of the commission Ursula von der Leyen proclaimed. German interior minister Nancy Faeser called the temporary protection plan "a paradigm shift" for the EU.
