Approximately 1,000 Ukrainian refugees are leaving Czechia every day, but still around 300,000 of the original 350,000 asylum seekers to arrive during the conflict in Ukraine remain in the country, according to Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.
Rakušan, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister, also revealed that a similar figure was still arriving in the country on a daily basis, and explained around half of the 50,000 that have departed the Czech Republic actually went home to Ukraine, with others traveling on to other countries, mostly Germany.
The Czech interior minister stated that 80-85 percent of refugees have stayed in Czechia while the numbers of arrivals and exits are balanced. It is, however, hard to ascertain an exact number of people leaving because the Czech Republic does not lie on the external Schengen border.
“If we now have the idea that 75-80 percent of people are in their places, then this is quite telling. We need to know the conditions of those who want to go to school. That is the most important thing,” commented Rakušan on the issue of obtaining more precise data. “When enrolling in schools, we want to collect additional data, use it to maximize data collection, which will probably be the most decisive moment,” he added.
Improved cooperation with Hungary
Rakušan expressed his hope that the European Commission will activate the registration system it promised, and vowed to meet with EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
The Czech deputy prime minister also said that the cooperation with Hungary concerning Roma refugees with dual citizenship has improved; about a third of these refugees have proven to be dual citizens of Ukraine and Hungary, and as such, they have no claim to temporary protection. They are, however, EU citizens — they cannot be deported or otherwise moved, but they have no claim to social benefits either. Rakušan stated that the ministry is trying to inform these people of this fact.
