A proposal by presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, to limit the number of beneficiaries of benefits for Polish residents has split the ruling coalition, although most Poles support it.
Written by Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who is running for president in Poland's May elections as a candidate of Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO), has proposed changing the rules for granting the 800 zloty (€189) monthly child benefit to Ukrainians. He said at one of his campaign rallies that the benefit should be paid only if the parents work and pay taxes in Poland.
He explained that Poland must not make the same mistake as other Western countries, such as Sweden, where "it was simply profitable to come just for the social benefits.”
Curbing benefit tourism
The "800 plus" benefit is a Polish government program that provides financial support to families with children. It was introduced by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party after its election victory in 2015, and maintained by Donald Tusk's coalition after it came to power in 2023.
It currently provides a monthly payment of 800 zlotys for each child under the age of 18, an increase from the previous 500 zlotys. The benefit is universal, meaning that it is not means-tested and is available to all eligible families, regardless of income level.
Following the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022 and the significant influx of war refugees arriving in Poland, the benefit was extended to Ukrainian children.
However, some beneficiaries received the benefit even though they were not permanent residents of Poland. The media reported on buses traveling from Ukraine to Poland just to collect the monthly allowance.
This became one of the arguments of the far right and other critics, who claimed that Poland was overly involved in supporting Ukraine while Ukrainian immigrants and refugees were taking unfair advantage of it.
Mounting resentment against Ukrainians
According to the 2024 data from the Polish Interior Ministry, over 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens are currently in Poland, with approximately 980,000 benefiting from temporary protection.
As the war progresses, support among Poles for helping Ukraine and Ukrainians in Poland is declining, polls show. According to a poll by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CBOS) published in October 2024, 53 percent of Poles support the country's acceptance of Ukrainian refugees, the lowest result since the beginning of the full-scale war. In March 2022 the support was 94%.
The most frequently cited reason for resentment towards Ukrainians is their "sense of entitlement," according to a study, headed by Dr. Robert Staniszewski of the University of Warsaw and the Warsaw University of Economics and Humanities
Regarding Ukrainian refugees, this means "feeling entitled to everything," "demands for social benefits," "desire to have the same rights as Poles," "expecting everything for free," and "lack of gratitude for help," Staniszewski explained.
With growing resentment towards Ukrainians and a perception that they are demanding, campaign arguments about limiting benefits for refugees are gaining traction.
Tusk backs the plan
Tusk supported his candidate's idea to limit child benefits. "President Rafał Trzaskowski's proposal to grant the 800+ benefit only to migrants, including Ukrainians, who actually live, work and pay taxes in our country will be urgently considered by the government," the prime minister announced on X last month, adding that "personally he is in favor of it."
Before the mayor of Warsaw decided to take action on this issue, the PiS beat him to it. "We have already submitted a draft bill to the parliament to amend this law and limit the 800+ program to families who, firstly, work in our country and, secondly, pay taxes in Poland," announced PiS parliamentary leader Mariusz Błaszczak.
A separate draft was submitted by the far-right Confederation Party, which accused Trzaskowski and the Civic Platform of hipocrisy.
"Now Rafał Trzaskowski pretends to be a great defender of common sense and the state budget against unlimited handouts of more than 800 million euros, while it was PiS, hand in hand with his Civic Platform, that voted for handing out welfare to Ukrainians on a grand scale. A big bunch of hypocrites," the party said in a statement published on its website.
Sceptical coalition MEPs cite data
While Tusk's party and the conservatives are on the same page, the proposal to limit benefits for Ukrainians has divided the ruling coalition. The Left party is the most opposed.
“The Left emphasizes that the 800+ benefit should be independent of the child's nationality, as its removal could lead to poverty. We criticise the Civic Coalition's proposal to limit the program for Ukrainians, seeing it as a move aimed at gaining public support in the context of the presidential campaign,” Left MEP Krzysztof Śmiszek told EURACTIV Poland.
He added that his party opposed punishing children for their parents' situation and pointed out that the system has already been tightened by linking the child benefit to school attendance.
Śmiszek also noted that immigrants from Ukraine have a high employment rate—78% are working, and among refugees, it is 68%, mainly due to childcare responsibilities.
He cited the data indicating that Ukrainians generate significantly higher revenue for the budget than the cost of the 800+ program for this group (15 billion zlotys in taxes compared to 2 billion zlotys in costs). The issue of unemployment among Ukrainians is marginal, as they make up only 1.4% of the unemployed in Poland.
Another coalition party, the centrist Poland 2050, is also skeptical. "Unfortunately, since the inauguration of President [Donald] Trump, the presidential campaign in our country has resembled a race against populists," Poland 2050 MP Michał Kobosko wrote on Facebook.
Kobosko pointed to another data point, noting that the number of Ukrainians receiving the 800 Plus benefit has halved since 2022 (from 500,000 to 250,000 beneficiaries), with a further decline expected after the new law comes into effect. "The system is airtight - I have no doubts about it," the lawmaker said.
He also claimed that Ukrainian refugees who stay in Poland as workers, entrepreneurs, consumers and taxpayers have a positive impact on the economy, which will grow in the long run. He cited Deloitte's D.Climate general equilibrium model, which shows that Ukrainian refugees will increased Poland's GDP by 0.7-1.1% in 2023. In the long run, this impact is projected to increase to 0.9-1.35%.
Common sense or irresponsibility
Kobosko told EURACTIV Poland he was surprised by Rafał Trzaskowski’s proposal of limiting the benefits for Ukrainian citizens in Poland, “especially at a time when global aid for Ukrainians remains uncertain”.
“The fact is that everyone—including Poles and, above all, Ukrainians—is exhausted by the war unleashed by Putin. Unfortunately, this affects public sentiment. However, after nearly three years of providing assistance to Ukrainians, we cannot distance ourselves from our actions or call what we have done for them a mistake,” he said.
He argued that Ukrainian children are often cared for by their grandparents or single mothers who are unable to work. “Why should we take away benefits from those who need them the most? This is a matter of values,” he insisted.
Moreover, from a pragmatic perspective, helping Ukrainians is also in Poland’s own interest, according to Kobosko. “We are at a point where we need more workers. Ukrainians integrate very easily into Polish society, often taking jobs that have long lacked willing workers,” the MEP stressed.
Another MEP, Anna Bryłka from the Confederation, recalled that her party has long been warning that opening the entire social welfare system to foreigners was an irresponsible and misguided idea.
“At the time, journalists in the parliament did not want to listen. Today, Rafał Trzaskowski pretends to be a rational politician, even though his [Civic Platform] party supported the Ukrainian special laws, and once in government, they voted against an amendment on this issue,” she told Euractiv Poland.
In her view, Trzaskowski “may promise absolutely anything, while in fact that he is nothing more than a political chameleon.”
What next?
Speaking to EURACTIV Poland, Kobosko expressed his satisfaction that his party's voice is being heard, although it is hard to say whether the proposal to curb benefits for migrants and refugees will fail or pass.
"But I know that a voice of reason is crucial amid this wave of populism, especially from the right wing," he said.
Meanwhile, as many as 88% of Poles support Trzaskowski's proposal to limit child benefits for Ukrainians, while only 6.4% oppose it, according to a poll by IBRiS for Rzeczpospolita.
The idea is supported by 88% of ruling coalition voters and 92% of opposition voters, including those voting for PiS and Konfederacja.
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