Moroccans Among Beneficiaries of EU Temporary Protection Measure

Rabat – New data from the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, reveals that 4,240 Moroccans were granted temporary protection status across the EU as of December 2023.

The temporary protection measure was established in March 2022 to provide immediate access to residence permits and rights in EU countries for those fleeing war in Ukraine.

While the vast majority of the over 4.3 million beneficiaries were Ukrainian nationals, Eurostat’s data shows citizens from other countries have also been granted temporary protection.

Germany hosted the most Moroccans with temporary protection at 2,075, followed by Portugal with 935 and the Netherlands with 895 Moroccans. Smaller numbers of Moroccans benefited from temporary protection in Spain (195 people), Italy (40 people), and Belgium (25 people).

Between 10 to 15 Moroccans were granted the status in Finland, Poland, and Austria each, while 5 or fewer received temporary protection in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Romania, Sweden, and Norway.

Across the EU as a whole, Germany took in the largest share of total beneficiaries at over 1.2 million people or 29% of the total. Poland hosted nearly 1 million Ukrainians and Czechia took in over 373,000.

When compared to their total populations, Czechia and Poland had the highest rates of temporary protection beneficiaries per 1,000 inhabitants at 34.5 and 26 respectively. The EU-wide rate was 9.6 beneficiaries per 1,000 people.

As of December 2023, over 98% of temporary protection recipients were Ukrainian citizens. Adult women made up the largest demographic at 46.2% of the total. Children accounted for 33.2% and adult men just over 20%.

The temporary protection mechanism streamlines residency application processes and provides access to benefits like accommodation, social welfare, medical care, education, and employment across the EU for up to three years.

In September 2023, the European Council voted to extend temporary protection from an initial end date of March 2024 to March 2025 due to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.