Berlin Many people are leaving Ukraine after the Russian attack. United Nations aid organizations expect four to five million refugees if the situation worsens.
The interior ministers of the 27 EU countries are therefore coming together for a crisis meeting at the weekend. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Twitter on Friday that a special session would be held “about concrete answers to the situation in Ukraine”. France currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU states.
“The Ukraine crisis makes it dramatically clear how urgently we need a European-coordinated regulation for refugee movements,” said the parliamentary director of the FDP parliamentary group, Stephan Thomae, the Handelsblatt. A comprehensive reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is needed to deal with migration. “In a first step, a coalition of willing member states is needed to ensure a fair distribution of the burden in Europe,” said Thomae.
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After months of troop deployment on the borders, Russia launched an offensive from different directions on Thursday. While tanks pushed into the former Soviet republic, there were air raids across the country. In Kiev, people also fled to underground stations for protection.
FDP expects “considerable secondary migration to Germany”
According to United Nations estimates, 100,000 people have already fled Ukraine. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that one was vigilant and prepared for what was to come. Cities and municipalities have already offered their help. “Now it’s all about supporting Ukraine’s neighboring countries.”
According to the refugee agency UNHCR, thousands of people have already fled to neighboring countries such as Poland, Moldova, Slovakia and Russia. Ukraine has approximately 42 million inhabitants.
The FDP politician Thomae assumes that Poland, as the first European country of entry, will “most likely” be affected by a large number of refugees. As a result, however, a “considerable secondary migration to Germany” is to be expected.
“Escape movements via Slovakia and the Czech Republic to Germany would also be conceivable,” said Thomae. It is therefore important that Europe now stands together in solidarity and that no European country is left alone with possible mass flows from Ukraine.
The Greens see it that way. A “coordinated European approach is now necessary to organize humanitarian aid and the distribution of refugees within the EU quickly and unbureaucratically,” said parliamentary group leader Konstantin von Notz to the Handelsblatt. For example, food, infrastructure, personnel and medical care would have to be made available quickly in the neighboring countries.
Green for refugee entry without a biometric passport
FDP politician Thomae emphasized that Germany has a “humanitarian duty to support the countries bordering Ukraine in the event of refugee movements”. For example, “the dispatch of a task force, for example to Poland”, is conceivable. This can help with the logistical challenges: clarifying identity, preparing applications or aspects of security.
Von Notz advocated leaving the borders to Ukraine’s neighboring countries open to people fleeing. “In addition, visa-free access to the EU should also apply to Ukrainian citizens without a biometric passport and to asylum seekers staying in Ukraine.”
More on the Ukraine war:
So far, Ukrainians with a biometric passport can enter Germany without a visa and stay here for up to 90 days. In addition, the Residence Act provides the option of issuing a residence permit for temporary protection. Interior Minister Faeser spoke of the possibility of “unbureaucratic admission”, which is currently being examined.
The CSU politician Andrea Lindholz called on the federal government to prepare Germany for all scenarios. “Of course, this also includes the possibility of large flows of refugees from Ukraine to the EU,” said the deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Handelsblatt. The Federal Republic can quickly offer civil support for emergency care to the EU partners in the East via the Technical Relief Agency (THW) and aid organizations such as the German Red Cross (DRK).
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