After temporary protection: the future of Ukrainians in the EU discussed in Florence

How can the rights of millions of Ukrainians be guaranteed after the temporary protection measures in the European Union expire? This question was one of the key issues discussed at the annual conference of the Migration Policy Center (MPC) and the Global Observatory on Citizenship (GLOBALCIT), which took place in Florence, Italy, in May.

The event was attended by a representative of the Ukrainian legal community, Olga Poyedinok, deputy chairman of the Committee on International Law of the Ukrainian National Bar Association. Her report was devoted to the transformation of the institution of citizenship in the context of post-conflict migration.

The advocate recalled the unprecedented scale of forced migration from Ukraine caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and stressed that temporary protection in the EU is already shaping a new reality, with Ukrainians forming stable economic, educational, and family ties in their countries of residence. Under these conditions, the common task of Ukraine and the EU should be to create legal mechanisms that allow Ukrainian citizens to freely choose between return and integration — without discrimination or loss of ties with their homeland.

At the same time, migration continues, and this catastrophic process in humanitarian and demographic terms, according to the speaker, can only be stopped if the war is completely ended and Ukraine's security is truly guaranteed in the future.

It is equally important, according to O. Poyedinok, that Ukraine itself does not lose contact with those who have temporarily left and takes comprehensive steps to preserve national unity. Among specific initiatives, she noted the creation of a Ministry of National Unity, the expansion of the network of consulates, the simplification of document processing abroad, and the liberalization of multiple citizenship policy.

Conference participants also discussed the issue of forced passportisation in temporarily occupied territories, the challenges of the current model of citizenship in Ukraine and the prospects for its adaptation to Ukraine's future membership in the EU. The Ukrainian participant stressed the importance of maintaining legal consistency in countering the aggressor, while remaining open to constructive change.

The GLOBALCIT conference in Florence is one of Europe's key intellectual platforms for analyzing citizenship and migration policy. The presence of Ukrainian advocates in such discussions strengthens the professional voice of our community in shaping European decisions that affect the lives of millions of people in times of war and profound transformation.