Polish MFA chief Radoslaw Sikorski advocated limiting benefits to conscripted Ukrainians in his country's territory.
Sikorski doesn't rule out limiting benefits to conscripted Ukrainians in Poland
According to the head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a pan-European system on this issue is necessary.
At the same time, Sikorski emphasised that it is Ukraine that has to say the decisive word regarding the actions taken against conscript Ukrainians on the territory of Poland and other EU countries.
Ukraine needs to say what it wants us to do about its citizens. I certainly do not believe that there is a right for a person to receive social security for avoiding the draft. Those people who fight at the front also have human rights, Sikorski emphasised.
He also added that any scheme for restricting benefits should be pan-European. Otherwise, those who avoid the draft will start "buying benefits" all over Europe.
Why is it unprofitable for Poland to return conscripted Ukrainians home?
Poland will lose part of its economic growth in the event of actions aimed at returning Ukrainian men of military age to Ukraine.
This decision can significantly affect Poland's economic indicators. There are currently more than a million Ukrainian citizens in Poland, of whom 371,000 are men of military age.
According to the Deloitte report, Ukrainian refugees contributed 0.7-1.1% to Poland's GDP growth in 2023.
At the same time, in the long term, the economic effect should increase to 0.9-1.35%.
It is noted that the increase in the wage bill, the growth of private consumption and the inflow of foreign capital contributed to the growth of the Polish economy by 10.1-13.7 billion zlotys ($2.525-3.425 billion) in 2022 and 14.7-19.9 billion zlotys ( 3.675-4.975 billion) in 2023, which significantly offset the government spending on refugees of PLN 15 billion (3.75 billion) in 2022 and PLN 5 billion (1.25 billion) in 2023.
It is emphasised that the majority of Ukrainians in Poland work in industrial production and are involved in transport services and construction.
It is added that almost half of Ukrainians perform work that does not correspond to their qualifications.
Also, last year almost 10% of new private enterprises in Poland were founded by Ukrainians, mainly in construction, information and communication and other services.
