Poland changes rules for supporting Ukrainians: who will be left without social benefits and medical care
фото: REUTERS
Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the law on providing social assistance and free medical care to Ukrainian citizens staying in the country.
This is reported by Interia Wydarzenia .
Nawrocki explained his decision as a matter of “social justice” and said Poles should receive equal or even preferential treatment in their own country. This could mean significant changes for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians currently benefiting from support programs.
The Polish president stressed that payments under the “800+” program should be provided only to those Ukrainians who are officially working in Poland. According to him, the state cannot afford to finance social benefits without taking into account the contribution of foreigners to the Polish economy.
He emphasized that he did not sign the law in its current version precisely because of the lack of equality between Poles and Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, he proposed that the parliament finalize a new draft law within two weeks, which would provide for a number of stricter norms.
Among Nawrocki’s initiatives is to extend the period for obtaining Polish citizenship from three to ten years, as well as to extend this rule not only to Ukrainians but also to citizens of other countries. In addition, he advocated toughening the punishment for illegal border crossing – up to five years in prison.
A separate point that caused a resonance concerns the intention of the Polish president to include a provision on “stopping Banderism” in the new law.
Nawrocki proposed equating “Banderism” with Nazism, which, he said, should protect Polish society from “Russian propaganda and historical manipulation.”
At the same time, the German government is preparing legislative changes that would reduce social assistance for Ukrainian refugees arriving in the country after April 1, 2025.
By the way, as of August 15, tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have found asylum in the United States could find themselves without legal protection — unless the Trump administration intervenes. This would mean the risk of arrest or deportation for them.
Recall, earlier, United States President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war will be able to remain in the United States until the full-scale Russian invasion is completed.
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