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Poland needs EU help to deal with Ukraine refugee surge: gov’t minister

17.05.2022 00:30
A Polish deputy interior minister has said that Poland needs to work with other European Union countries to best support refugees from war-torn Ukraine.
Paweł Szefernaker.
Paweł Szefernaker.PAP/Leszek Szymański

Paweł Szefernaker made the statement to Polish state news agency PAP on Monday. 

He was speaking after a meeting with senior lawmakers from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to discuss humanitarian challenges posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to officials.

'Systemic solutions' to help refugees

Szefernaker told the PAP news agency that the talks focused on “refugee support, including systemic solutions and the problems currently faced by our countries in dealing with waves of refugees.”

“I believe that some countries in our part of Europe will draw on Polish experiences - we need discussions and cooperation with other states, too,” said Szefernaker, who is Poland’s commissioner for refugees from Ukraine.

Need for EU funds

Monday’s meeting in the Polish parliament also explored the need for additional funding from the European Union for refugee assistance, Szefernaker said.

He added: “As far as I can tell, all the countries in our region are aware of this need.”

He voiced hope that an EU summit would take place later this month to "make the necessary decisions," the PAP news agency reported.

Monday was day 82 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Poland on Monday reported it had welcomed 3.4 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAPforsal.pl