Polish Far Right Fears Ukrainians in Poland Could Lead EU Nations

A Polish member of the European Parliament says Ukrainians in Poland could gain real political power across the EU. She wants Poland to stop giving citizenship to foreigners and to withdraw support for Ukraine’s EU bid.

Polish Far Right Raises the Alarm Over Ukrainian Influence

Poland’s far right fears that ethnic Ukrainians could one day lead EU countries. Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik, a member of the European Parliament, raised the alarm. She represents the Confederation coalition of Poland. She shared her views in a post on the platform X. Her post focused on a claim by a former Ukrainian foreign minister.

She wrote:

“The former head of Ukrainian diplomacy, who as minister willingly lied about history, named a long term goal. Within 30 years, a person of Ukrainian origin would serve as prime minister or president of one of the European states. As you can see, this is no longer about simple integration. It clearly describes a plan to strengthen political influence with the help of Ukrainian migrants. This should be seen as a potential threat to state security, and it must be countered.”

More Than 1.5 Million Ukrainians in Poland Live There Legally

Zajączkowska-Hernik said more than 1.5 million Ukrainians now live legally in Poland. Many of them are seeking Polish citizenship, and many more will seek it soon. She says the trend of Ukrainians in Poland gaining influence is already visible.

She wrote:

“And this gives voting rights and the ability to influence the fate of our state. What is more, in Poland a situation is already emerging where people of Ukrainian origin enter local authorities and even receive high posts in the government.”

She also gave a concrete example. Her example was Andrzej Szeptycki, the deputy minister of science and technology. Szeptycki has publicly said he belongs to the Ukrainian national minority.

Proposal to Stop Citizenship and Oppose Ukraine’s EU Bid

The MEP suggested preventive steps to deal with the trend. She wants Poland to stop giving citizenship to foreigners. She also wants Warsaw to drop its support for Ukraine’s plan to join the European Union.

She wrote:

“We must react to this process, so we should stop granting Polish citizenship to immigrants, introduce the option of revoking citizenship granted earlier, and firmly oppose Ukraine’s accession to the EU, because this will only increase the uncontrolled influx of Ukrainian immigrants.”