The human rights organisation Pro Asyl, which supports asylum seekers in Germany, has urged the European Union to extend the directive on temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees, which is set to expire in March 2024.

As reported by DW, citing Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, human rights advocates believe that EU leaders "must officially adopt this decision as quickly as possible, so that people are in greater safety and authorities can prepare properly."

They labeled any other outcome as "absurd" in light of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. The same call was made by the Conference of German Cities, which unites several thousand municipalities in Germany.

Helmut Dedí, the managing director of the organisation, stated that "cities urgently need guarantees that the EU directive will be extended, creating legal certainty regarding the residency status of refugees from Ukraine."

"It has proven effective and significantly eased the work on site," he emphasised, also urging for a more flexible system of funding distribution among cities.

According to Engelhard Mazanke, the head of Germany's largest immigration authority in Berlin, Ukrainian refugees "want to know this now."

"This is understandable, because for example, in order to obtain subsidised housing permits, a residence certificate is required for one year," he explained.

The EU adopted the Directive on Temporary Protection to help Ukrainians find shelter and receive assistance with as few obstacles as possible. EU member states even began building temporary Ukrainian 'villages' to better integrate refugees into society.

Previously, it was reported that 44% of the over 1 million Ukrainian refugees who came to Germany to escape the war hope to stay in the country.

The governments of European countries have allocated over 43 billion euros for sheltering Ukrainians who became refugees due to the war unleashed by Russia.