Rights of citizens of Ukraine in the EU

It is dedicated, a person, his life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized as the highest social value in Ukraine. Due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian citizens were forced to flee the war to neighboring EU member states. These EU member states, in accordance with the norms of their national legislation, guarantee basic rights and freedoms to the citizens of Ukraine. Also, these states are members of the integration association, the norms of primary law of which also guarantee basic rights and freedoms to citizens of Ukraine. The article focuses attention on the catalog of rights of Ukrainian citizens in the EU and on the mechanisms of their protection. It is emphasized that the catalog of human rights contained in the primary law of the EU is not identical to the catalog of human rights enshrined in the national legislation of the EU member states. It is noted that citizens of Ukraine who are in the EU have rights guaranteed to them by EU legislation, which establishes minimum standards, and by the national law of the EU member state in which the citizen of Ukraine resides. The minimum standards of human rights established by the norms of EU primary law must be ensured to every citizen of Ukraine residing in any EU member state. Higher standards of human rights, which are guaranteed by the norms of national legislation, differ in each EU member state. The article highlights the peculiarities of the implementation of the rights of citizens of Ukraine, whose legal regime of stay in the EU is temporary protection. It is emphasized that until March 4, 2022, such a regime did not exist for citizens of Ukraine. Features of the implementation of the following rights of citizens of Ukraine who enjoy temporary protection are highlighted: residence permit; access to work; access to education: children under the age of 18 have the right to study in educational institutions under the same conditions as citizens of the host country; provision of housing; access to social security; access to medical care; access to information about temporary protection; the possibility of obtaining refugee status; the possibility to return to the state of citizenship at any time. It is emphasized that each EU member state independently establishes requirements for the cancellation of the temporary protection status for EU citizens.