The Council of Ministers of Poland adopted a draft law Monday to provide zł8 billion (US $1.75 billion) to Ukrainian refugees. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) reported Tuesday that approximately 2.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine, and about 1.3 million of those have fled to Poland.
Under the Polish program, any person or entity who provides housing or food to Ukrainian refugees may receive zł40 (US $9.25) a day for a maximum of 60 days. Ukrainian refugees may apply for a single payment of zł300 (US $69.25) to be used for “food, clothing, footwear, personal hygiene products and housing fees.”
The law also includes provisions for refugee access to healthcare, work, family benefits, and education. Ukrainians living legally in Poland will have “guaranteed access to the public health care system, on the same terms as Polish citizens.” Ukrainian citizens will have access to labor services like job placement and career counseling. Labor will result “in access to social benefits or subsidies for the reduction of the parent’s fee for the child’s stay in a nursery, children’s club or with a day carer.” The government will also allocate funds so that Ukrainian students may continue their education in Poland.
In a pre-taped video address, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki acknowledge that his nation has not established large-scale refugee camps because “[t]he Polish people have opened their hearts and doors to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.” He vowed continued support from the government and called on European leaders to provide aid to their “common cause,” saying, “Ukraine is fighting not only for itself but for the whole of Europe. For our freedom and our future.”
These new provisions will take effect when they are published in the Polish Journal of Laws and will “apply retroactively” from February 24, 2022.
According to the UNHRC, Ukrainian refugees have fled to other European nations in large numbers: 203,222 to Hungary, 153,303 to Slovakia, 99,300 to the Russian Federation, 85,444 to Romania, 82,762 to the Republic of Moldova, and 592 to Belarus.
