The European Commission has proposed tightening the European Union's rules for admitting Ukrainian men fleeing Russia's war who have no permit to leave the country.
"Our proposal provides that temporary protection should not be granted to newly arriving persons who are not allowed to leave Ukraine because of their military obligations under Ukrainian law," EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner told journalists on Friday.
"This is what Ukraine has asked us to do," Brunner said, adding that the plans take "into account Ukraine's evolving defence needs."
Ukrainian refugees are covered by the EU's Temporary Protection Directive, which grants them the temporary right to stay in the bloc without requiring individual asylum procedures.
The European Union currently hosts 4.4 million Ukrainians, according to the commission.
Friday's proposal follows a discussion among EU interior ministers in early June, during which Germany and other member states spoke in favour of making it harder for men of military age from Ukraine to be admitted to the EU.
According to dpa sources, the idea of excluding men aged between 23 and 60 from the temporary protection directive found broad support.
The new proposal also foresees an extension of the simplified asylum rules for all other Ukrainians by one year until March 2028, as the current rules are set to expire on March 4, 2027.
EU countries still have to adopt the proposal before it can enter into force.
EU plans met with criticism
The plans to restrict temporary protection have prompted swift criticism by the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog.
The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Michael O'Flaherty, "expresses concern about the mounting pressure to prematurely end temporary protection arrangements and restrict access for specific groups, such as men of conscription age."
"This is something the Ukrainians asked us to do, and we shouldn't fall into this Russian propaganda trap," said Brunner, defending the EU proposal.
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