EU doesn’t intend to forcibly return men of mobilization age to Ukraine
Ukrainian male citizens of military age will not be forcibly expelled from the territory of the European Union, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ilva Johansson said.
"We will support those who want to return to Ukraine, and we will discuss with the Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian government how to do it in the best way possible. We will not expel anyone from the EU," Johansson stressed in an interview with Radio Liberty published on Thursday, answering the question whether the EU could help Ukraine return its men of military age from abroad.
She stressed that it is impossible to apply a differentiated approach to Ukrainian refugees based on their gender, age, and military service.
"This is not possible under the Temporary Protection Directive,” the European Commissioner noted.
In turn, the Dutch publication De Volkskrant reports that during the discussion of migration policy in Parliament, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that the possibility and mechanisms of returning Ukrainian men to their homes were being considered. At the same time, according to him, we are not talking about force methods, but rather encouragement, and stressed that one must be "extremely careful" in this matter. The dates are not specified.
According to the publication, about 39,000 men from Ukraine (half of them of military age) and 63,000 women are registered in the Netherlands.
