Following Poland, the new parliamentary coalition in the Czech Republic plans to make significant changes to migration legislation, particularly revising "some benefits" that Ukrainian refugees receive. This was reported by "Radio Free Europe" citing the speaker of parliament and leader of the right-wing populist movement SPD, Tomio Okamura.
"It is impossible for the safety of the citizens of the Czech Republic to remain secondary while we continue to provide protection to people who repeatedly break the law and pretend that the law does not apply to a certain privileged group of people. The law must apply equally to all," said the politician.
He criticized the European Union's decision to extend the temporary protection regime for Ukrainian refugees until March 2027.
As noted by "Radio Free Europe," Czech populists are currently limiting themselves to general threats, without going into specifics about what changes they will make to the legislation. However, even mere discussions about this are enough to make Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic start to worry.
"Refugees feel that the mood in society is changing, and there is a risk that the previously positive attitude of the state towards them may significantly change. The feeling of being an 'uninvited guest' among Ukrainian refugees and foreigners in general has been increasing lately," noted the head of the legal department at the Integration Center in Prague, Pavela Rozumovska.
Stanislava Sladekova from the Refugee Assistance Organization noted that some politicians "deliberately incite hatred towards the Ukrainian community, portraying it as the cause of certain problems in Czech society." In particular, Ukrainians are blamed for economic and social issues in the Czech Republic, such as crime, housing costs, or problems in the healthcare system. However, such accusations are not supported by facts.
Ukrainian refugees in Europe: latest news
As reported by UNIAN, earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to ensure that young Ukrainian men remain in the country, serve in the military, and have the opportunity to find decent work, rather than leaving for EU countries.
The statement came amid growing dissatisfaction among Germans that thousands of young Ukrainian men are arriving in Germany, who were allowed to leave the country at the end of summer. The right-wing populist party "Alternative for Germany" even approached the government with a request for how many Ukrainian men are in Germany and whether they could be deported to Ukraine.
As reported, in 2026 Latvia will reduce support for refugees from Ukraine living in the country. The state budget for this year allocates 39.7 million euros for this purpose. This is almost 25 million euros less than in 2025, when 65 million euros were allocated for this purpose.
