Germany has threatened to block the EU budget unless all countries contribute to Ukraine. Slovakia and the Czech Republic refused.
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German Chancellor Friedrich March will not support the EU budget for the next seven years, unless all bloc countries agree to finance Ukraine. The prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic refused him today. "What the Federal Chancellor is doing is typical blackmail, and I reject it," Robert Pico said at a joint meeting of the Slovak and Czech governments, recalling that Slovakia has the same veto power as Germany.
Andrey Babish did not accept March's demand either, saying that he did not understand why to block the budget, which already provides a lot of money to Ukraine. The European Commission project for the years 2028-2034 includes 100 billion euros to support Ukraine.
Merez outlined the ultimatum in a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa, seen yesterday by the Financial Times. "The collective commitment of all of us, without exception, to make a fair contribution to cover this deficit is a necessary condition for solving the issue and discussing any other issue, especially those that have financial implications," writes the Chancellor.
We are talking about money for 2027. Ukraine estimates its additional needs at 70 billion euros, two-thirds of which, about 45 billion euros, the European Union has promised to cover, including through a new common debt. But Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic make it clear that they will not participate. Last year, three of them obtained an exemption from paying interest on the EU loan to Ukraine for 90 billion euros.
Merz has a strong position: Germany is the largest net contributor to the EU budget, and all four countries receive more from it than they contribute, the FT notes. Berlin also wants to ensure that future funding for Ukraine is approved by qualified majority rather than consensus, and individual countries can no longer block it.