Solidarity with Ukrainian refugees on the wane?
In Poland, a major controversy has broken out over social benefits for Ukrainian refugees. Polish President Karol Nawrocki has lodged an objection to the government's Ukraine aid law, which is intended to guarantee benefits such as child benefit and social assistance until March 2026. Commentators see symptoms of a declining willingness to help, as well as risks for Europe.
Policies informed by myths about social fraud
Fraud involving the receipt of unauthorised benefits is no longer a problem, Krytyka Polityczna points out:
“The abuses, i.e. people cashing in on benefits for children who were no longer in Poland, occurred mainly in the years 2022 to 2023. Since then, it has become a major problem that migrant women who have left Poland for less than 30 days no longer receive child benefit after their return and have to spend months fighting for their benefits at the Social Insurance Office (ZUS). However rational arguments are not heeded here: the phrase 'We help Ukraine and Ukrainians too much' has already become a well-established social myth.”
Poles and Ukrainians in the same boat
It would be unwise to declare that the Ukrainians are enemies, Rzeczpospolita puts in:
“Poland needs Ukrainian labour today, and it will need it even more tomorrow. It needs Ukraine to hold back the Russian army's offensive, and three to five years from now it will need it even more. Even if our interests diverge on many issues, we will be reliant on each other in strategic matters in the coming decades. Unless, that is, Ukraine falls into the hands of anti-Western oligarchs and shares the fate of Belarus, turning into as big a threat as Alexander Lukashenko's vassal regime. No, for us it's better to have Ukraine as an ally and friend.”
Refugees more than pull their weight
When it comes to continued support for Ukrainians the figures speak for themselves, journalist and member of the Ukrainian parliament Mykola Kniazhytskyi European Solidarity) writes in a Facebook post republished by Espreso:
“According to statistics, 70 percent of the Ukrainian refugees of working age in Poland have jobs, and 90 percent of them are women. Their contribution to Poland's GDP is 2.7 percent, and they pay more than 15 billion złoty [around 3.5 billion euros] in taxes to the state budget every year. On the other hand, child benefit payments of 800 złoty per child for Ukrainian refugees amount to just 2.4 billion złoty [around 560 million euros]. Hence Ukrainians contribute significantly more to the Polish state budget than they receive from it.”
Scapegoats for failed policies
Foreigners are often blamed for the problems in those areas where the state fails, says NV:
“Quite often it is the inefficiency of domestic policies in the areas of education, healthcare and pensions that triggers a search for culprits - and migrants are then found to be such. The generally low level of trust in state institutions among citizens in Central and Eastern European countries also contributes to this. Because if people trust the policies in their country, they turn to the state with these questions, but if that trust is lacking, they look for the fly in the ointment. ... Migrants are always an easy target because they are foreign.”
Playing into Russia's hands
Hospodářské noviny observes:
“The political dispute between the new Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government has exacerbated the situation for one million Ukrainian war refugees in the country. Nawrocki refused to sign an amendment to the law that would extend their protection and give them access to the labour market and social support. ... The insecurity could open up more opportunities for organised crime to exploit refugees and also impact the situation of Ukrainians in neighbouring countries. Russian propaganda has already begun to exploit the problem, seizing on historical issues over which Poles and Ukrainians are divided.”