The EU will extend temporary protection for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war until March 2028, while excluding newly arriving Ukrainian men of military age from the scheme.

“This is what Ukraine has asked us to do, and this is what we are doing,” Magnus Brunner, the EU migration commissioner said while presenting the extension on Friday.

Under the European Commission’s proposal, temporary protection would no longer be granted to newly arriving individuals who are not permitted to leave Ukraine because of military obligations under Ukrainian law.

The move comes as Brussels prepares for the eventual phase-out of the emergency framework.

Last year, the European Commission urged member states to start planning for the programme’s end and adopted recommendations for a “coordinated transition” towards more stable legal statuses, though implementation has varied across the bloc.

“The current temporary protection regime is due to expire in March 2027, and March 2027 is actually tomorrow,” the commissioner said. “We need to maintain continuity.”

As of March 2026, some 4.33 million Ukrainians held temporary protection status in the EU. Germany hosted the largest number (1.27 million), followed by Poland (961,405) and Czechia (379,820).

When the directive was first activated, legal experts believed it allowed only two extensions, which would have ended protection in March 2025. The Commission later adopted a broader interpretation, first extending the scheme to 2026, then to 2027, and now proposing to keep it in place until 2028.

The scope of the protection framework was at the centre of discussions during this month’s meeting of EU migration ministers.

Ministers expressed broad support for extending the scheme beyond next year, but several countries also backed introducing restrictions, including excluding Ukrainian men of military age from any future extension, according to three diplomats. France emerged as the most outspoken opponent of efforts to narrow eligibility, the diplomats said.

The proposal will need to be approved by EU capitals via qualified majority.