Czechia ready to cooperate with Ukraine on return of men
3 May 2024 13:38
The Czech Republic supports Ukrainian refugees, but not fugitives, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky has said. According to Novinky.cz, the Czech authorities are ready to cooperate with Ukraine on the return of men, but there are not too many legal mechanisms for this, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“I understand the problem of the departure of Ukrainian men of military age. The Czech Republic has long supported Ukrainian refugees and hosted them on its territory. But not those who are trying to avoid the obligation to pay the fee established by law,”
– Lipavsky said.
However, the Czech Republic believes that the state’s capabilities in this area are limited.
“The Czech state has no legal basis for this. It cannot deprive someone of temporary protection just because it decides to do so,”
– said Věra Honuskova, an expert in international law at Charles University’s Faculty of Law.
She sees a theoretical way out in a mechanism where Ukraine sends a summons and the person abroad does not comply with it. Then Ukraine could bring such a citizen to criminal responsibility and demand that the Czech Republic extradite him or her from abroad for committing a crime.
Another way could be to restrict the issuance of passports.
“Every Ukrainian who has temporary protection in our country is obliged to prove himself with a valid document. If they fail to do so, they face a fine of up to five thousand crowns and possible deportation,”
– said Josef Urban, a spokesman for the Office of the Foreign Police.
However, it is understood in the Czech Republic that a passport is valid for ten years, so we should not expect a massive return of Ukrainians to their homeland in the near future.
At the same time, there are almost one hundred thousand Ukrainian men of military age in the Czech Republic.
“In the Czech Republic, there are 94,643 men aged 18 to 65 who have temporary protection in connection with the war in Ukraine,”
– said Hana Mala from the press service of the Ministry of the Interior.
Meanwhile, Lithuania and Poland are also ready to help Ukraine with the return of men.
Men abroad
According to Eurostat, as of January 2024, there were about 4.3 million Ukrainian citizens in the EU, of whom about 860,000 were adult men. Ukraine is trying to create conditions for their return and mobilisation.
Thus, on 23 April, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution that banned the sending of Ukrainian passports and international passports abroad for men aged 18 to 60. As a result, they will not be able to apply for and receive a new Ukrainian passport abroad. Also, the provision of any consular services to Ukrainian men of mobilisation age abroad has been suspended. This suspension will remain in place until 18 May, when the new mobilisation law comes into force. The European Union “took note” of this decision.
