Council decision 2022/382 and the temporary protection in the case of Ukraine: Stereotypes and racial discrimination

Abstract

The scale of the forced displacement of people from Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion has forced the Council to activate, after more than twenty years of validity, the Temporary Protection Directive. It is Council Decision 2022/382, which enters into force on 7 March 2022, that allows for the rapid activation of Directive 2001/55 for the first time, thus provoking an unprecedented wave of solidarity in the Union. This paper analyzes, focusing on Decision 2022/382, if behind this unprecedented solidarity there is discriminatory treatment. To carry out the study, our gaze is fixed on two angles: the EU’s response to previous crises such as the war in Syria in 2015 is analysed; and it also compares the treatment given by the Union on the basis of racial origin or migration status of persons fleeing Ukraine. It is necessary to examine whether the temporary protection triggered by Decision 2022/382 is a special feature which essentially contains racial discrimination.