EXPLAINER: What the EU is doing to help Ukraine refugees

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Around 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine in the two weeks since Russia invaded. Most have fled to the European Union. Over half have gone to neighboring Poland, with hundreds of thousands of others arriving in nearby Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. In response, the EU has launched a temporary protection mechanism that streamlines procedures. It offers those fleeing the war visas, access to jobs, shelter, medical treatment and education. They can stay for at least a year. The system was set up in 2001 in response to the fallout from the wars in former Yugoslavia and Kosovo in the nineties. It’s never been used despite the arrival of over 1 million people in 2015, many fleeing conflict in Syria.