Legal and Social Perspectives on the Mass Influx of displaced Ukrainian War Refugees in Germany and Poland

Abstract

The purpose of the following paper is to present few of the more important circumstances surrounding the mass influx of war migrants from the territories of Ukraine involved in armed conflict from a legal and social perspective, with a particular focus on the simplified procedure for accessing the labour market, as well as the social welfare and education system. Described applied solutions exist in a framework which seems to support the assumptions of the following thesis: state-based institutions shifted into a collective approach provided by EU regulations. This change is desirable, because it redefines asylum from political benefit bestowed by the host state to a human right invoked and accessed by individuals from Ukraine irrespective of their mode of entry. It will be explored further how, according to the authors, since when and why mass influx is handled this way in both Germany and Poland. The emergence of the temporary protection mechanism in Europe is a precedent, as until now there was no real need for it (i.e. in a situation of mass influx of migrants). Therefore, it was not present in the EU legal system until February 2022