The Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 resulted in the largest refugee crisis in
Europe since WWII. Using a unique panel conjoint experiment on refugee policy
preferences carried out in Germany, Poland and Hungary just before and after
the onset of the war in Ukraine, we show a heterogenous response to the influx
of refugees from Ukraine across the three countries: no change of policy
preferences in Germany, moderate change in Hungary and a significant change
in Poland. Our results have direct implications for the development of a
common EU asylum policy, as even though the countries persistently diverge on
the preferred mode of asylum seekers’ allocation, with Germans favouring
relocation and Poland and Hungary the status quo, the results highlight the
scope for consensus rooted in shared preference for the asylum seekers’
unrestricted access to the labour market. This dimension consistently emerges
as the most important policy dimension in all three countries before and after
the outbreak of war.