Save the Children calls on the EU for a long-term commitment to protect families fleeing Ukraine

The NGO calls for the extension, beyond 2025, of the so-called Temporary Protection Directive that has protected almost five million refugees

MADRID, 4 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The NGO Save the Children has asked the European Union to extend the so-called Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) approved exactly one year ago and which has allowed children and families fleeing the war in Ukraine to enter the European Union and access rights and services upon arrival.

"With no end to the war in sight and with the reality of a safe and sustainable return impossible for many, the organization also calls for the long-term protection of children and their families beyond 2025," the organization said. organization in a statement published on the occasion of the first anniversary of the directive.

The TPD has given 4.9 million people fleeing war, mainly women and children, temporary residence as well as immediate access to housing, education and essential services in EU Member States. Although the directive has already been extended by another year to 2024, governments, Save the Children says, need to start thinking about long-term planning to give families in Ukraine certainty about their future.

"Governments across Europe must start investing in options to help families in Ukraine to stay legally beyond 2025," says Save the Children's Europe director Ylva Sperling. "Governments should think about long-term residence, job mobility programs and well-resourced asylum systems capable of processing a future surge in claims," ​​she said.

Save the Children has a special impact on children's schooling, since children represent around 40% of refugees from Ukraine. Although the directive guarantees their right to access national school systems, an NGO survey reveals that a third of children have not attended school since leaving Ukraine and a quarter had no intention of enrolling during the 2022-23 academic year.

"Ensuring that these children are in school is essential for their sense of well-being and belonging. EU countries must redouble their efforts to expand the capacity of national education systems and strengthen the capacity of teachers to support the integration of students from different origins," Sperling said.