Spain, the third EU country that received the most Ukrainian refugees at the end of November

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BRUSSELS, Jan. 11 () –

Spain is the third country in the European Union that has granted the most temporary protection status to Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war in their country, with 153,000 beneficiaries until November, although at a distance from Poland and Germany, both close to a million , according to data from the European statistical office, Eurostat.

Last November, Poland hosted 40,370 people fleeing Russian aggression against Ukraine, followed by Germany, with 36,385 status beneficiaries, and Romania, 10,745. In total terms, the Polish authorities record the largest issuance of this protection, with 939,865 in total, followed by Germany, slightly above 901,930 beneficiaries.

In any case, the number of people with temporary protection in the EU registers a downward trend due to the cancellation of the registration of their temporary protection status and fell in 20 of the bloc’s member states.

A similar decline was already recorded in October compared to September. Specifically, in Poland it has fallen by more than 14,150 beneficiaries, while in Bulgaria, Ireland and Germany the same situation is experienced, on the opposite side, France registered 5,505 more beneficiaries.

The European Commission launched last March the protection mechanism for refugees from the war in Ukraine, just days after the start of the Russian invasion, a measure with which Ukrainians can travel freely within the Union, settle in any of its Member States, seek employment and have access to medical assistance.

The proposal from Brussels is to extend this mechanism until March 2024, a gesture pending the approval of the Twenty-seven that was announced last October in conjunction with an initiative to help refugees find employment within the EU.