Protect children fleeing the war

On the initiative of the EPP Group, the plenary of the European Parliament will debate today on measures to protect children fleeing the war in Ukraine.

“Today we stress how important it is to help, how important it is to provide care, a roof over our heads, access to education, to health services, to ensure family reunification. How important it is that we provide Ukrainian children and young people with everything that the brutal Russian aggression has deprived them of”, said Ewa Kopacz MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for children’s rights.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine, more than four million people have been forced to seek refuge abroad. Half of those fleeing are minors. The EPP Group wants to make sure that they are properly cared for and have access to education.

“We want to be at the forefront of protection of children’s rights, especially in view of this unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Protection and support for all Ukrainian children is our priority. We must be particularly vigilant of the dangers lurking for those children who have no-one to protect them - children arriving without guardians, children separated from their families, or children from institutional care. Let us not be naive - among the tens of thousands of wonderful, good, helping people and organisations, there will be those who will want to exploit this war and its victims in the most despicable way”, Kopacz added.

"The Russian invasion in Ukraine puts not only the country and its people at immediate risk but threatens the future of a whole generation. We need to ensure that young people get access to education so that they have the chance of a future no matter where they are", said Sabine Verheyen MEP, Chairwoman of the European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee.

“Children fleeing Ukraine are most vulnerable and it is therefore important that we enable our educators to work with refugee children. We call on the Commission and the Member States to use the digital tools developed during the pandemic to ensure that we do not leave young Ukrainians behind”, Verheyen concluded.

The European Parliament will vote on Thursday on a Resolution on EU protection of children and young people fleeing the war against Ukraine.