Tensions are rising in Poland and Germany over a sharp increase in the number of young men from Ukraine arriving after the country's travel restrictions were relaxed. Politicians in both countries have already started talking about potentially restricting their presence. Politico.
Tensions in Germany
Representatives of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative party have said that public support for Ukraine could decline if the number of men avoiding military service in the country increases.
"We are not interested in young Ukrainian men spending time in Germany instead of defending their country," MP Jurgen Hardt said in a comment to Politico.
He emphasized that Berlin will continue to support Ukraine, but emigration trends should be controlled.
Poland
In Poland, the far-right Confederation party criticized, stating that the state cannot "be a refuge for men who are supposed to defend Ukraine."
Politicians emphasized that the presence of such refugees is a financial burden on Polish taxpayers.
Border crossing statistics
After the relaxation of the rules for leaving Ukraine, the number of men leaving for neighboring countries has increased sharply. According to the Polish border service, in just two months after the change in legislation, 98,5 thousand Ukrainians aged 18-22 crossed the border with Poland - almost twice as many as before.
In Germany, the situation is similar: the number of young men arriving in the country increased from 19 per week in August to over 1,5 per week in October.
A new wave of controversy before winter
Analysts expect that with the approach of winter and possible energy problems in Ukraine, discussions in the EU will only intensify. Against this background, far-right forces in both countries are trying to use the topic of Ukrainian refugees to strengthen their influence.
Debate on social benefits
Germany and Poland host the largest number of Ukrainian refugees in the European Union. About 1,2 million people who fled Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 live in Germany. And almost a million in Poland.
Despite Ukrainians making up more than 6 percent of the Polish workforce and contributing significantly to economic growth, far-right politicians argue that they receive too many social benefits. Polish President Karol Nawrocki recently vetoed a law to help Ukrainians, saying that only those who work and pay taxes in Poland should receive the benefits.
Similar demands have been made repeatedly by the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which is currently leading in the polls. In addition to demanding an end to social assistance payments to Ukrainians, the party is known for its skepticism about military aid to Ukraine.
According to the country's employment agency, about 490,000 Ukrainian citizens of working age receive long-term unemployment benefits in Germany.
Merz's coalition, which is under increasing budget pressure and generally wants to cut social security spending, is working on a bill that would eliminate the right to such payments.
“Many people have mixed feelings about how we should deal with young Ukrainian men of draft age who have defected to us and may be receiving welfare payments. That’s understandable,” — Social Democratic Party MP Sebastian Fiedler told Politico.
He added that his faction does not see the need to act immediately, unlike Merz's conservatives.
"The SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag remains committed to supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. Part of our relationship with Ukraine also means that we do not dictate to it when its own citizens can enter and leave the country. It is fundamentally not Germany's job to decide which young people Ukraine sends to war and which not," - he said.
