How Poland's new president's initiatives harm Ukrainians and relations with Kyiv
On Monday, 25 August, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed amendments to three bills prepared by the government, including the law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine.
"The law, proposed three and a half years ago, must be adjusted today. I am convinced that all major political groups clearly state that ‘800+’ should only be received by those Ukrainian refugees who are working," the Polish president insisted.
He added that the same applies to healthcare: "Polish citizens are treated worse than our guests from Ukraine."
At the same time, the head of state announced that he would submit his own bill aimed at making it harder to obtain Polish citizenship, increasing penalties for illegal border crossing, and banning the promotion of the "ideology of Banderism."
Read more about how these changes will affect Ukrainian refugees and Poland itself in the article by journalist Olena Babakova (Warsaw): To punish and humiliate Ukrainians: what lies behind the new initiatives of Poland’s president.
The idea of abolishing or significantly limiting family benefits for refugees from Ukraine was first introduced into public discourse in 2023 by the far-right party Confederation. Later, it entered the mainstream.
And it should not be assumed that only Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki, backed by the Law and Justice party, lacks empathy, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Civic Coalition supported this idea only during the campaign.
In April, the Interior Ministry under Tusk’s government registered a bill that would have eliminated access to "800+" for unemployed Ukrainians. It is precisely this "tightening of aid," rather than attracting doctors or programmers, that the current ruling party has made the centerpiece of its migration policy.
Therefore, the government’s righteous indignation at Nawrocki’s decision says less about an awakening of humanitarianism and more about the president seizing the lead in the race to humiliate Ukrainians.
By vetoing the law on assistance to Ukrainian citizens, Karol Nawrocki also announced the blocking of unconditional refugee access to the National Health Service.
But unlike the benefit issue, this step directly contradicts the EU Directive on Temporary Protection.
At present, Ukrainian refugees enjoy unconditional access to public healthcare throughout the EU.
Because of the president’s veto, hundreds of thousands of people now find themselves in a legal vacuum.
Their period of legal stay expires on 30 September 2025. If this problem is not resolved, the consequences will harm not only Ukrainians, including those who work and pay taxes, but also Polish businesses that employ them.
Among Nawrocki’s initiatives was also a proposed amendment to the law on Polish citizenship.
Currently, those who obtain a Polish passport have effectively lived in Poland for at least 10-11 years. The new proposal would increase this period by seven years.
Another invented problem is the fight against the "ideology of Banderism."
In practice, implementing Nawrocki’s ideas gives nothing to Poles, except a symbolic blow against refugees and a deepening of social divisions within Poland.
What else can be expected from these initiatives?
Ukrainian refugees will be forced to look for places to hide from the political war between President Nawrocki and Prime Minister Tusk. They have become hostages of this war, with no influential force looking out for their protection.
Meanwhile, Poland’s migration policy, instead of addressing real challenges, will finally turn into a contest over who can display greater hostility toward foreigners.