The EU has provided Poland with €144.6 million (around 695 million zloty) to help it deal with the huge wave of refugees fleeing Ukraine. The interior minister says that the amount is “small” compared to Poland’s outlay on supporting refugees, but notes that a further tranche of 200 million zloty is due.
Poland has been the primary destination for those fleeing Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, and it is estimated that around one million remain in the country. The OECD estimates Poland will spend €8.36 billion this year on helping the refugees, more than any other county.
From early on during the crisis, Warsaw has called on the EU to provide funds to support countries taking in the refugees. And yesterday interior minister Mariusz Kamiński revealed that almost 700 million zloty had arrived so far.
“The financial support from the EU, although small – because it covers only a part of the costs incurred by our country – shows that Europe appreciates the key role of Poland in supporting Ukraine,” Kamiński told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The money has come from €400 million in emergency funds that the EU made available earlier this year to member states most affected by the crisis: Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The Polish government has said this figure is not enough, arguing that an additional fund is needed to help refugees, whichy can only be set up after an agreement by the European Council, PAP reports.
Z satysfakcją informuję, że Polska otrzymała blisko 700 mln zł z #UE za działania na rzecz uchodźców z Ukrainy. Środki zasiliły fundusze, których operatorem jest @MSWiA_GOV_PL. Czekamy na kolejną transzę ok. 200 mln zł.
— Mariusz Kamiński (@Kaminski_M_) October 19, 2022
Although Kamiński only announced the receipt of the funds yesterday, PAP reports that the payment was made on 26 August. The interior minister noted that Poland is now waiting for a second tranche of around 200 million zloty.
His announcement comes days after European Commission sources confirmed that they are withholding billions of euros from Poland’s cohesion funds due to ongoing concerns over the rule of law. The commission had previously frozen €36 billion in post-pandemic recovery funds for the same reason.
As well as receiving millions of refugees, Poland has also been one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters during the war. It has donated more military equipment to Kyiv than any country apart from the United States, as well as providing significant humanitarian aid.
Warsaw recently confirmed that it has given Ukraine 150 Starlink terminals, a communications lifeline which provides access to Elon Musk’s satellite internet system.
“We are sending humanitarian aid, [and] units answering to our ministry have provided their Ukrainian colleagues with specialist equipment,” Kamiński said.
“We have welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees into our homes, and we are making efforts to ensure that further sanctions against the aggressor, Russia, are introduced,” he added.
Main image credit: European Union/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Peter Kononczuk is senior editor at Notes from Poland. He was previously a journalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in London and Warsaw.
