The European Commission has proposed waiving lengthy national asylum-seeking procedures and introducing wide-ranging measures to protect refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The proposals grant immediate refugee protection in the European Union for a period of up to one year, with extensions possible, according to a commission’s statement.
The measures, first announced at a crisis EU interior ministers’ meeting on Sunday, are designed to ease pressure on EU member states’ borders and make evacuations easier.
The proposals also aim to prevent member states’ asylum systems from being overwhelmed, the statement said.
The commission and the UN human rights agency UNHCR have claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has displaced more than 650,000 people.
