President Karol Nawrocki expressed hope that Donald Tusk’s government remembers the conditions governing cooperation on legislation concerning assistance for Ukrainians. “Let me remind you that I said I signed the law on assistance for Ukrainians [in September] for the last time,” he added.
On September 26, 2025, President Nawrocki signed a law on assistance for Ukrainian citizens, which limited the 800 Plus benefit for Ukrainians who are not working in Poland. Earlier, at the end of August, the president had vetoed the previous version of the amendment, explaining that the lack of such a limitation in the draft was the reason for his decision.
Nawrocki’s earlier declaration regarding restricting benefits for unemployed Ukrainians sparked significant controversy and a wave of criticism from the ruling coalition, even though that same coalition had been proposing similar ideas not long before.
Today, during a meeting with voters in Mińsk Mazowiecki, the president returned to the topic.
“All major candidates during the election campaign said that 800 Plus should go only to Ukrainians who are working, not to all Ukrainians who are not working. Yet once I became president, I was handed a draft law that did not reflect the views of the main candidates for the presidency of the Republic of Poland. It was an unfair solution toward Poles, which is why I vetoed it. The government adjusted to my expectations, though not fully, and I signed the law for the second time because I do not want to be a president of chaos. But I emphasized—and if the prime minister and the parliamentary majority are watching us—let me remind you that I said I signed the law on assistance for Ukrainians for the last time,” Nawrocki said.
“I believe that the Ukrainian minority, in the third year after the outbreak of the war, should be treated with due responsibility, but in the same way as all other national minorities in Poland. We are at a social moment in which we have matured, and I think the government is working on solutions that will secure both our prosperity and the well-being of Ukrainian citizens in our country—people we welcomed with open hearts three years ago. And that we will not, due to the actions of the government, fall into chaos in March next year. Once again, let me remind you what the conditions of this cooperation are,” he added.