3 Feb 2023 11:06

EU to keep taking in Ukrainian refugees for as long as necessary - commissioner

MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax) - The European Union has dealt with the migration crisis and stands ready to take in Ukrainian refugees for as long as necessary, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said.

The Ukrainian media quoted Johansson as saying at a joint meeting of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission in Kiev on Thursday that the European Union was not afraid of a refugee crisis and would continue doing it as long as necessary.

According to Johansson, over 4 million Ukrainians are staying in the European Union and the situation has been quite stable since April 2022: some are returning to Ukraine, while others are arriving in Europe. She also said that almost 750,000 children of Ukrainian refugees went to school in EU states, and over 600,000 refugees found jobs.

She said that over 600,000 adults were working and, while the EU was hoping for their return home in the foreseeable future, it was still ready and would continue to address practical problems if necessary.

In turn, the Ukrainian media quoted European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit as saying that the share of employed Ukrainian refugees of able-bodied age reached 40% in certain European countries, and many of those people helped compensate for the deficit of labor force.

In his words, over 350,000 persons are registered with state employment agencies and are actively searching for a job.

It is important to provide access to vocational education, professional development and language courses, Schmit said.

For her part, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko said that Ukraine highly appreciated the efforts of the European Union and its members who opened their homes to 4.6 million Ukrainians. She referred to the UN statistics in saying that 87% of those people are women with children, and 90% of them wish to return home. This is why Ukraine defines them as persons temporarily relocated abroad instead of migrants. Sviridenko added that 70% of the Ukrainians who went abroad had higher education and 65% of them had jobs before they crossed the EU border.

The average level of their employment stands at 28%: it is the highest in Poland and below 10% in Germany, she said.

Even if the Ukrainians integrate into the labor market well, there is still substantial pressure on the EU social infrastructure, Sviridenko said.

"We, the government, see the creation of all conditions necessary for the Ukrainians' return to Ukraine as our chief task for today," Sviridenko said.