Merz Threatens Cut Funds Over Ukraine Aid, Fico Cries Blackmail
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled he will block the EU's 2028-34 budget unless all member states commit to financing Ukraine. Slovakia's Robert Fico called it blackmail. Leaders are due to discuss Ukraine's funding gap at a summit in Dublin on Friday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled he will block the European Union's seven-year budget unless all member states commit to financing Ukraine, in a letter dated ahead of a leaders' summit in Dublin on Friday. Merz threatens to cut funds for countries that stay out, triggering accusations of blackmail from some central European leaders.
Germany wants steep cuts to the proposed 2028-34 budget. It also opposes generous EU funding for member states that refuse to chip in for Ukraine.
"What the chancellor is doing is typical blackmail, and I will not give in to it," Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, told reporters in Bratislava. He spoke alongside Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš, whose government also rejects joining a future loan for Ukraine. "I do not know why he is saying it," Babiš said.
Merz wants leaders to discuss Ukraine's financing needs in Dublin. In his letter to European Council president António Costa, who chairs the meeting, he wrote that bilateral assistance "is distributed unevenly and carried mostly by only a few member states."
He called a "collective commitment … without exception" an "essential pre-requisite" for closing Ukraine's funding gap and for discussing any further matters with financial implications. A German government official said support from all member states was essential to complete the budget talks.
Berlin also wants decisions on Ukraine funding taken by qualified majority rather than unanimity. That would stop a single government from blocking them.
The funding gap
The EU agreed last year to lend Ukraine €90bn, meant to cover two-thirds of its military and civilian costs for 2026 and 2027. Russian bombardment has since added costs, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked for €70bn to fill a shortfall.
The EU has endorsed those figures and pledged to find €45bn. Ukraine's other allies, such as the UK and Canada, are expected to provide the rest.
Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia opted out of the €90bn loan and have indicated they will stay out of the next round. Bulgaria has joined them since the election of prime minister Rumen Radev last April.
Merz had earlier led an effort to use €210bn of frozen Russian sovereign wealth held in the EU. Opposition led by Belgium, which hosts most of the funds, scuppered the plan.
Support and pushback
Ireland's finance minister, Simon Harris, backed the principle. "To have an honest multi-annual budget for Europe, that has to involve considering the question of the funding for Ukraine," he said.
Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said proposals to cover Ukraine's gap should be backed "by the EU27, not by the EU24 or any number of countries."
Costa, a former Portuguese prime minister, must broker a budget deal. He wants agreement by the end of the year, before elections in France, Poland and Italy in 2027 that are likely to complicate the task. A spokesperson confirmed receipt of Merz's letter without commenting on its details.
