Poland has taken in more than 1 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the Polish Border Guard agency.
The new legislation proposed by the government aims to help finance food and temporary accommodation for refugees, while also enabling them to obtain legal employment and access public healthcare, education and social assistance in Poland, officials told reporters.
"Our initial assumption is that the fund we will set up will amount to around PLN 8 billion," Cabinet Minister Łukasz Schreiber said in a media interview on Monday.
Under the bill, a one-off PLN 300 benefit would be offered to each refugee, while Polish families hosting Ukrainians would be provided with financial assistance of up to PLN 1,200 a month for a period of two months, the government said.
The measure is expected to be approved by the Polish parliament in a fast-track legislative procedure on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Monday that the proposed new rules "are above all intended to offer some sort of a substitute of a normal life for all those people who are arriving in Poland."
The United Nations estimates more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia attacked its neighbour on February 24, the Reuters news agency reported.
While most of those crossing the Polish border are Ukrainian nationals, there are also many citizens of Asian and African countries among the refugees, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported, citing the foreign ministry in Warsaw.
The Polish government on Sunday launched a special online platform to coordinate humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine by local authorities, nongovernmental organizations, foundations and private businesses.
The platform has been designed to operate as part of the existing pomagamukrainie.gov.pl website, officials said.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters