Edition: International | Greek
MENU

Home » Europe

Poland backs ending EU benefits for Ukrainian men of fighting age

Poland would support ending welfare payments to Ukrainian men of fighting age in Europe to push them to return home and fight Russia’s invasion

By: EBR - Posted: Monday, September 16, 2024

Kyiv is trying to replenish the ranks of its army as the war stretches into its third year, including by enticing emigrants to return to Ukraine.
Kyiv is trying to replenish the ranks of its army as the war stretches into its third year, including by enticing emigrants to return to Ukraine.

Poland would support ending welfare payments to Ukrainian men of fighting age in Europe to push them to return home and fight Russia’s invasion, the Polish foreign minister has said.

Kyiv is trying to replenish the ranks of its army as the war stretches into its third year, including by enticing emigrants to return to Ukraine.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski proposed on Friday (13 September) to “stop paying social security payments for people who are eligible for the Ukrainian draft”.

Some men fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted, despite an official ban on leaving the country that applies to most men of fighting age.

“There should be no financial incentives for avoiding the draft in Ukraine,” Sikorski continued.

Poland does not provide security payments to refugees, said Sikorski, who advocated for other European countries to implement his proposition.

Sikorski said the idea would “help Western European finances, that would politically help mainstream parties against right-wing radicals.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said he would “support” the idea, but that it needed the “appropriate conditions”.

He added there were about a million men of mobilisation age abroad, including 300,000 in Poland.

The statements were made on Friday but the conference was embargoed until Saturday for security reasons.

*first published in: Euractiv.com

READ ALSO

EU Actually

PM Francois Bayrou’s ‘moment de verite’

N. Peter KramerBy: N. Peter Kramer

France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed cutting two public holidays as part of a 2026 budget proposal to slash overall spending

Europe

Europe’s 2040 climate target isn’t just for environmentalists

Europe’s 2040 climate target isn’t just for environmentalists

Europe can’t decarbonise the world on its own. But it must develop policies that work so that other nations can copy and adapt them

Business

To save the Single Market, bring back Delors’ 1992 playbook

To save the Single Market, bring back Delors’ 1992 playbook

Most people familiar with EU affairs know the single market is a myth. Hailed as the bedrock of the European Union, it was never completed and is now crumbling.

MARKET INDICES

Powered by Investing.com
All contents © Copyright EMG Strategic Consulting Ltd. 1997-2025. All Rights Reserved   |   Home Page  |   Disclaimer  |   Website by Theratron