EU Considers Excluding Ukrainians of Conscription Age From Protection Program

The European Union is discussing the possibility of excluding Ukrainian men of conscription age from the extended temporary protection scheme.

The publication Euractiv has reviewed an internal EU Council document on this topic.

This proposal arose during discussions on the future extension of the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which allows Ukrainians to live and work in European Union countries without having to apply to national asylum systems.

The scheme, activated following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, is currently in effect until March 2027.

According to an internal EU Council document reviewed by Euractiv, one of the options under discussion is to extend temporary protection while narrowing its scope. Specifically, this involves potentially excluding men of conscription age or individuals who left Ukraine illegally.

Any such restrictions would apply only to new applicants seeking temporary protection.

Last year, the European Commission called on member states to prepare for the gradual phasing out of the program. In 2024, it adopted recommendations for a ‘coordinated transition’ to more stable legal statuses, but progress in this direction remains uneven.

Some EU governments have expressed concern that “a growing proportion of new arrivals consists of men of conscription age.”

At the same time, several countries believe the system should be reviewed “also in the interests of Ukraine”—both to support its resistance to Russian aggression and to facilitate the country’s future reconstruction, the document states.

Migration ministers will discuss this issue at this week’s meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs EU Council. However, any changes to the directive must be initiated by the European Commission.

The European Commission has not yet indicated whether it plans to formally propose another extension of the scheme.

As of March 2026, 4.33 million Ukrainians had temporary protection in EU countries. The largest numbers were in Germany (1.27 million people), Poland (961,405 people), and the Czech Republic (379,820 people).