NEWS

EU Member States on March 3 made the unprecedented decision to activate the European Union’s Council Directive known as the Temporary Protection Directive

DETAILS

WHAT IS TEMPORARY PROTECTION – The European Commission describes “temporary protection” under the TPD as an “exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin”

WHY ESTABLISH STANDARDS

• Reduces disparities between the policies of EU States on the reception and treatment of displaced persons in a situation of mass influx
• Promotes solidarity and burden-sharing among EU States with respect to receiving large numbers of potential refugees at one time
• Establish minimum standards for giving temporary protection to displaced persons as well as to “promote a balance of effort between Member States in receiving and bearing the consequences of receiving such persons”

WHAT OBLIGATIONS DOES THE TPD PLACE UPON EU STATES?

• a residence permit for the duration of the protection (which can last from 1-3 years),
• appropriate information on temporary protection,
• access to employment,
• access to accommodation or housing,
• access to social welfare or means of subsistence,
• access to medical treatment,
• access to education for minors,
• opportunities for families to reunite in certain circumstances, and
• guarantees for access to the normal asylum procedure.