Temporary Protection Directive

<p>The Temporary Protection Directive (TPD; Council Directive 2001/55/EC) is a 2001 <a href="/facts/Directive_(European_Union)/KS076mKR">European Union directive</a> providing for immediate, temporary protection for <a href="/facts/Displaced_people/lKjCS4R2">displaced people</a> from outside the <a href="/facts/External_border_of_the_European_Union/W3hMbAVW">external border of the Union</a>, intended to be used in exceptional circumstances when the regular <a href="/facts/EU_asylum_system/dMmSeIGV">EU asylum system</a> has trouble handling a "mass influx" of <a href="/facts/Refugees/VISfRRnT">refugees</a>. It was introduced in the aftermath of the <a href="/facts/Yugoslav_Wars/CUoVQ6Y9">Yugoslav Wars</a>, but was not used before 2022. When invoked, it requires EU member states to accept refugees as allocated based on their capacity to host them, following a principle of solidarity and a "balance of efforts" among member states.
</p><p>On 3 March 2022, in response to <a href="/facts/2022_Ukrainian_refugee_crisis/9dWAVw8R">the refugee crisis</a> caused by the <a href="/facts/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine/TTeQCgSl">2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>, EU ministers unanimously agreed to invoke the Temporary Protection Directive for the first time in its history.
</p>

Temporary Protection Directive open-in-new

Temporary Protection Directive