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Germany, Poland Push to Reduce Ukrainian Refugee Welfare Support
(MENAFN) European leaders in Germany and Poland are pushing to reduce welfare support for Ukrainian refugees in a bid to encourage military-age men to return and join the defense effort, media revealed Tuesday.
More than 1.2 million Ukrainians have sought shelter in Germany since the conflict intensified, making it the top EU destination, while Poland hosts close to one million, according to Eurostat figures.
Jurgen Hardt, a high-ranking legislator from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told media: "We have no interest in young Ukrainian men spending their time in Germany instead of defending their country."
The conservative parliamentarian condemned Kyiv's late August policy shift that freed men aged 18 to 22 from travel restrictions—a reversal of rules that previously confined all able-bodied males between 18 and 60 within Ukrainian borders.
Poland's right-wing Confederation party adopted an even more confrontational stance, declaring Warsaw "cannot continue to be a refuge for thousands of men who should be defending their own country, while burdening Polish taxpayers with the costs of their desertion."
Weekly arrivals of young Ukrainian men into Germany have exploded from just 19 in mid-August to more than 1,800 in October, domestic outlets reported, citing Interior Ministry statistics. The Polish Border Guard verified the surge to media, noting many refugees transit onward to Germany.
Markus Soder, who heads Germany's Christian Social Union (CSU), told Bild last Thursday that "we must control and significantly reduce the rapidly increasing influx of young men from Ukraine."
"The EU and Berlin must exert pressure on Ukraine to change the relaxed travel regulations," he demanded.
Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki approved legislation restricting Ukrainian migrants' access to state assistance.
In March, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz expressed mounting public anger over "young Ukrainians driving the best cars around Europe and spending weekends in five-star hotels."
More than 1.2 million Ukrainians have sought shelter in Germany since the conflict intensified, making it the top EU destination, while Poland hosts close to one million, according to Eurostat figures.
Jurgen Hardt, a high-ranking legislator from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told media: "We have no interest in young Ukrainian men spending their time in Germany instead of defending their country."
The conservative parliamentarian condemned Kyiv's late August policy shift that freed men aged 18 to 22 from travel restrictions—a reversal of rules that previously confined all able-bodied males between 18 and 60 within Ukrainian borders.
Poland's right-wing Confederation party adopted an even more confrontational stance, declaring Warsaw "cannot continue to be a refuge for thousands of men who should be defending their own country, while burdening Polish taxpayers with the costs of their desertion."
Weekly arrivals of young Ukrainian men into Germany have exploded from just 19 in mid-August to more than 1,800 in October, domestic outlets reported, citing Interior Ministry statistics. The Polish Border Guard verified the surge to media, noting many refugees transit onward to Germany.
Markus Soder, who heads Germany's Christian Social Union (CSU), told Bild last Thursday that "we must control and significantly reduce the rapidly increasing influx of young men from Ukraine."
"The EU and Berlin must exert pressure on Ukraine to change the relaxed travel regulations," he demanded.
Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki approved legislation restricting Ukrainian migrants' access to state assistance.
In March, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz expressed mounting public anger over "young Ukrainians driving the best cars around Europe and spending weekends in five-star hotels."
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