EMN Finland Conference 2024
Between integration and return:
The future of Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection in Europe and Finland – Conference materials now available!
The EMN Finland 2024 conference was organized as a hybrid event in Hotel Arthur, Helsinki on November 27 2024.
Download the conference report here.
Download the conference programme, concept note and speaker bios.
The conference presentations are available in full at the EMN Finland Youtube Channel(siirryt toiseen palveluun).
Speaker presentations:
Dr.Meltem İneli Ciğer (Suleyman Demirel University Faculty of Law)
Csilla Völgyi (DG HOME)
Ave Lauren (OECD)
Jutta Saastamoinen (EMN Finland)
Susanna Piepponen (Ministry of Employment and Economic Affairs)
Elina Nurmi (Finnish Immigration Service – Reception Services)
Tanja Mustonen (Ukrainian Association in Finland)
As the war in Ukraine drags on, some Ukrainians are beginning to find new homes in EU countries, including Finland. It is possible that Ukrainians will become one of the largest diasporas in Finland and many other EU countries in the near future. EU countries are therefore now compelled to consider the transition of those granted temporary protection to other longer-term legal statuses and to look at integration in a broader context. On the other hand, at the same time, Member States must take into account that some may still return to Ukraine even after integrating to a member state.
The 2024 National Conference of the European Migration Network Finland Contact Point examined the state of play as well as the future prospects of the situation of Ukrainians in Finland and in EU countries. The conference aimed to address the challenges of integration in a situation where a refugee finds himself between two countries. The conference also sought to promote dialogue between different actors and to find new perspectives on how to support refugees in the limbo between integration and return.
Opening words for the conference were held by Minister of Labour Arto Satonen.
The keynote speech for the conference was by Dr.Meltem İneli Ciğer, Associate Professor of International Law at the Suleyman Demirel University Faculty of Law, who is an expert in temporary protection and refugee law.
The conference also featured presentations based on the European Migration Network publications Labour market integration of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine and The application of the Temporary Protection Directive: challenges and good practices in 2023. In addition, the Ministry of Employment and Economic Affairs presented its Action Plan to Help People Who Have Fled Ukraine 2024–2027.
The event also featured comments on the reports from national and international experts, as well as from Ukrainians themselves. The second half of the conference consisted of a panel discussion on how Finland (and Europe) should organise the transition of Ukrainians to permanent EU residency in the near future, and on how to facilitate the return of those willing to return to Ukraine once reconstruction is underway.
Contact: emn@migri.fi