Polish Sejm Marshal Opposes Limiting Aid For Displaced Ukrainians

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Marshal of the Polish Sejm Szymon Hołownia opposed the initiative to limit social assistance for children of foreigners, including Ukrainians, if their parents are unemployed or paying no taxes in Poland.

Hołownia wrote about this on the X Network in the context of the initiative from the presidential candidate from the ruling Civic Coalition, Mayor of Warsaw Rafal Trzaskowski, who had been endorsed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Ukrinform reports.

“I do not join those who will now abandon their previous values ​​and compete with the far-right. This is some kind of strange hysteria that, after Trump won in the States, everyone here now wants to be like Trump, to the best of their ability,” Hołownia wrote.

He noted that the right-wing conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) registered a corresponding bill in the Sejm immediately after Trzaskowski's statement on the need to pay social assistance under the "800+" program (a monthly payment from the budget for all children in Poland under the age of 18 in the amount of approximately $200) to Ukrainian children only if their parents are employed and pay taxes in Poland. At the same time, at the initiative of the nationalist Confederation, the government tabled a report on this topic in the Sejm.

According to Hołownia, the facts show that almost 80% of adult Ukrainians in Poland are employed and pay taxes. At the same time, the number of Ukrainian children receiving social assistance under“800+” program has halved since 2022 (from 500,000 to 250,000). And it may decrease even further once the law comes into force in June, according to which social aid will be paid only to Ukrainian children studying in Polish schools (previously, Poland allowed for distance learning in Ukrainian schools). The Marshal noted that state services have recently been effectively countering attempts by foreigners to obtain social assistance fraudulently.

As Hołownia emphasized, Poland has a sharply declining natural population growth rate, while Ukrainians contribute to GDP growth by approximately 1%. According to economists, the income from labor offered by Ukrainians exceeds the expenditures on them from the Polish budget by 5-10 billion zlotys ($1.2-2.5 billion).

"We will need these children on the Polish labor market one day, and therefore the fact that they will now learn Polish and be able to live in our country, I perceive not as a loss, but as an investment," wrote Hołownia.

He emphasized that if there is a group of Ukrainian mothers in Poland whose children go to school, but they themselves cannot be employed, for example, due to illness in the family or because they have to take care of several children, he would "not make their plight a hostage to any election campaign."

As reported, Trzaskowski previously emphasized several times in his campaign speeches that he was in favor of ceasing social assistance under the "800+" program to families of Ukrainians who are not employed and who do not pay taxes in Poland. Prime Minister Tusk stated that he supports the initiative, which the government will "urgently consider."

As of today, the benefit for children under the age of 18 in Poland under the "800+" program is paid to all families, including foreigners living in Poland, without any additional conditions.

The first round of the presidential elections in Poland will be held on May 18, with a possible second round on June 1. As of today, Trzaskowski has the best chance of winning. Hołownia is also running for president, but, according to opinion polls, has little chance of reaching the runoff.

Photo: Jacek Dominski/REPORTER

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