Germany greenlights decision to approve refugees from Ukraine: Interior Minister

Germany is planning to greenlight the decision to approve refugees from Ukraine regardless of their nationality, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Minister said that under the current situation, nationality would not play any part in the nation’s decision to welcome refugees from Ukraine.

As per the reports, Faeser noted that, “We wanted to save lives, that doesn’t depend on the passport.”

The report further added that, “Just a week after Russia’s attack, which was called a “special military operation” by Russian President Vladimir Putin, over 1.3 million Ukrainians have headed to other European nations.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) released a statement on Thursday, March 3, denouncing the military aggression by the Russian Federation and at the same time expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Faeser pointed out that, “The vast majority of those who fled are Ukrainian nationals. People from other nations who already had a permanent right of residence in Ukraine bring this status with them.”

According to her, people fleeing from Ukraine will not be subject to complex international protection procedures, adding that the cooperation among European nations authorities to assure the safety and security of citizens of Ukraine was historic.

Till now, over 787,300 people have fled to Poland while nearly 30,000 to Germany, as per the authorities in these nations. On March 3, the European Travel Commission (ETC) published a statement denouncing the military aggression by the Russian government while expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Authorities in the European Union have considered several measures against Russia due to the latter’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As per the statement, the Commission of the European Union has announced the suspension of cooperation with Russia in the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation programmes (ENI CBC) and the Interreg Baltic Sea programme.

At the same time, Ukraine’s neighbouring nations have made all the necessary preparations to welcome refugees from Ukraine.