The 9th meeting of the Working Group on the Protection of Rights and Freedoms of Ukrainian Citizens Staying in the Territory of EU Member States and Other Countries as Temporarily Displaced Persons was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna and Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych.

The event gathered relevant deputy ministers (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice), representatives of the President's Office, MPs, representatives of the State Migration Service, National Social Service, National Police, Mission of Ukraine to the EU, etc.

During the meeting, the participants discussed current issues faced by Ukrainian citizens who have temporarily moved abroad due to the full-scale war, and identified priority areas for Ukraine to work with the EU to further ensure the rights of Ukrainian citizens.

Olha Stefanishyna emphasized the importance of proper coordination of public authorities, in particular in communication with the European Commission and Member States, to ensure the rights of Ukrainians in view of the expiration of temporary protection in March 2025.

"As the three-year period of temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens in the European Union expires next year, it is critical to develop a common position for further communication with the EU on the protection of the rights of our citizens in the EU after March 4, 2025, as well as synchronize further steps to resolve current issues," the official emphasized.

Roman Goriainov, Director of the Department General for Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed about the dialogue with EU member states within the framework of the Solidarity Platform.

"We are in constant communication with our European partners on the issues related to the movement of Ukrainians to the EU. So far, we have held 3 meetings within the Solidarity Platform, which were attended by representatives of all our embassies in the EU. Among the priority areas are the recognition of Ukrainian e-documents by the EU countries and simplification of the car re-registration procedure. For our part, we are taking all measures to ensure the process of issuing documents to Ukrainian citizens abroad," emphasized Roman Goriainov.

The participants also emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation with the relevant EU authorities on the exchange of statistical information. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Oleksii Serheiev informed about the steps taken to improve the collection and processing of border crossing data. For example, the State Border Guard Service Administration has already held relevant working meetings with representatives of EUAM Ukraine and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

A separate issue addressed was the dialogue with the EU on proper social security, health insurance, especially for vulnerable categories of Ukrainians, which is currently provided along with the status of a temporarily displaced person. The Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych emphasized that the priority was to maintain the existing level of social protection (assistance) for Ukrainians after 2025, including the protection of families with children, children left without parental care, persons with disabilities, elderly citizens, etc.

"It is vital to preserve medical and social support for people with disabilities and the elderly so that our citizens are not forced to return to dangerous conditions, left without the necessary care and protection," emphasized Oksana Zholnovych.

Deputy Minister of Health Maryna Slobodnichenko, in turn, informed that the Ministry was working to extend the medical evacuation mechanism for affected Ukrainians in need of specialized treatment and further rehabilitation (MedEvac). This mechanism operates within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the European Commission, and transportation for treatment is absolutely free of charge for patients.

A separate block of the meeting was the issue of maintaining access to the labor market for Ukrainians in the EU. Deputy Minister of Economy Tetiana Berezhna informed that there had been a steady trend that Ukrainian citizens have one of the highest employment rates among other categories of internally displaced persons and enter the labor market faster.

Olha Stefanishyna emphasized the need to continue working with EU countries to maintain access to the labor market for Ukrainians in the EU, in particular in the bilateral format of cooperation. She noted that this was an important element in the context of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, in particular under Title 2, Free Movement of Workers.

According to Eurostat, as of the end of February 2024, 4.4 million Ukrainian citizens, including 1.4 million children, were granted temporary protection in the EU and the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). Most Ukrainian citizens received temporary protection in: Germany - over 1.2 million; Poland - 957,000; Czech Republic - 385,000; Spain - 200,000; Italy - 165,000.