Policy Brief: How to improve protection standards? Lessons from the EU’s response to the displacement from Ukraine

The rapid and positive EU response to displacement from Ukraine has set a precedent for managing large-scale situations of crises. In contrast to the often slow, yet crisis-driven, and often restrictive approaches towards other displaced groups fleeing to Europe, the EU activated the previously dormant Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) (TPD) for the first time in March 2022.This instrument provided more than 5 million people displaced from Ukraine with immediate access to protection and related rights. The decisions taken on how to apply the TPD also allowed for free movement within the EU, as well as to and from Ukraine. This short outlines three key takeaways on EU management of displacement from Ukraine and sheds light on how these could be transferred to the protection of other groups of displaced people.