Polish President Nawrocki vetoes bill extending benefits for Ukrainian refugees

Poland’s newly elected President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed legislation that would have extended welfare benefits for Ukrainian refugees, delivering on a key campaign promise to tighten social assistance amid rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the country.

According to The Guardian report, Nawrocki, who took office earlier this month after winning an election in spring, said only Ukrainians in work should receive child benefit payments.

“We remain open to providing assistance to Ukrainian citizens – that hasn’t changed,” The Guardian quoted Nawrocki as saying in a statement. “But after three-and-a-half years, our law should be amended,” he added.

Nawrocki vetoed a bill that would have extended the current system of payments, due to expire in September, until March 2026.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees have settled in Poland, the majority of them women and children.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticised the veto as did others in his government.

“We cannot punish people for losing their job – particularly not innocent children. This is the ABC of human decency,” the labour minister, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bak, wrote on X. The child benefit payments are 800 złoty (£162) a month.

“President Nawrocki does not agree to the privileged treatment of citizens of other countries,” said a statement released by his office. “That is why he has decided to veto the bill on assistance for Ukrainian citizens in its current form and will present his own legal proposals.”

Poland’s government and President Karol Nawrocki are locked in a legislative standoff, with each side able to block the other’s proposals. Prime Minister Tusk had hoped ally Rafał Trzaskowski would win the presidency, but the right-wing Nawrocki narrowly took office and is now using his veto power.

Nawrocki’s recent veto of a bill extending refugee benefits has also jeopardised Poland’s funding of Starlink internet for Ukraine, Deputy PM Krzysztof Gawkowski warned.

“This is the end of Starlink internet,” he posted on X. Nawrocki’s office said funding could continue if parliament passes his alternate bill by September’s end.

Poland was once one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters, but public sentiment has shifted. Despite studies showing Ukrainian refugees contribute more in taxes than they receive in aid, political rhetoric has stoked growing resentment.

With inputs from agencies