ABSTRACT
By mid-2022 more than 5m. people had fled Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion that commenced in February. The vast majority—more than 3m. people—had travelled to Poland. EU member states responded rapidly by activating, on 4 March, the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), which had initially been agreed in 2001 but which had not been activated prior to the Ukraine refugee crisis. The TPD provided for refugees from Ukraine to live, work and access social assistance in EU member states for up to three years. Mass displacement from Ukraine had a seismic effect on EU migration and asylum policy, but also came after a series of events that had raised important questions for EU leaders about migration and asylum, including the ‘migration crisis’ of 2015–16 and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
