Speaking to Lusa, the Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, stated that in a meeting with European counterparts, called to discuss the migration pact, a “new mechanism that could allow the protection of these people who are in extreme vulnerability, despite integration processes that are different from country to country”.

“What I defend is that there must be a common response, similar to what happened when the temporary protection directive was created”, stated the minister, who proposes “legal, regular and safe migration and protection for the most vulnerable” to those who “had to leave Ukraine abruptly”.

“More than individual responses, the objective is to find a common response based on the solidarity of European countries”, explained the minister, highlighting that this initial discussion will continue for some time in Brussels.

“What is currently being discussed in Europe is what to do after 2025, whether this temporary protection is extended or a new, more permanent legal regime is found,” she explained.

Even before the approval of this temporary directive, in March 2022, after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Portugal already had measures that allowed these citizens “temporary protection” solutions, allowing access to the tax and social security number and health user “so that they could easily integrate into society”.

“Of the 60,000 citizens [welcomed] under this temporary protection, 12 thousand today have a permanent work contract and five thousand children can attend school in Portugal”, recalled the minister, admitting that the country also benefited from the existence of a “particularly significant community of Ukrainian citizens, which greatly helped the integration of these people”.

Temporary protections granted to refugees from Ukraine are given automatically and the first time they were granted lasted one year.