Paweł Jabłoński’s words came following talks in Warsaw on Tuesday between the Polish government and the European Commission on tackling the mounting refugee crisis, news agencies reported.
The Polish diplomat noted that over 3 million people have fled war-torn Ukraine, with more than 2 million pouring into Poland.
“The scale of help provided to refugees from Ukraine is really very big,” Jabłoński told reporters, adding: “We explained to the European Commission how that looks in practice, what sort of measures we are taking and what the costs are."
He added that the Polish authorities were keeping Brussels up to date on the costs of the wide-ranging support extended to refugees from Ukraine.
Brussels should 'show more ambition’
“Today we spoke with the European Commission about the funds we can spend from the Polish budget,” Jabłoński said.
He added: “In our view, in the face of such a big, Europe-wide crisis, the EU cannot stand on the sidelines.”
He also said that Tuesday’s talks explored in detail how EU money could be made available to Poland.
“Nevertheless, we keep encouraging the Commission to show more ambition and greater flexibility, in order to finance various expenses much more generously than to date,” he added.
According to Jabłoński, funds are needed especially for education, health and social care, as well as support for families with children, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Jabłoński said that Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki would discuss EU financing for refugee support at the bloc’s summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Wednesday is day 28 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Tuesday evening reported it had taken in more than 2.15 million refugees fleeing Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda signed into law a wide-ranging package of support for Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their country.
The measure grants them legal stay in Poland and ensures access to education, healthcare and social benefits.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP