Fico Calls Merz's Link Between Ukraine Funding and the EU Budget "Blackmail," Says Slovakia Has the Same Veto
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on November 10 accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of "blackmail" for linking funding for Ukraine to talks on the European Union's next long-term budget. Speaking in Bratislava at a joint meeting of the Slovak and Czech governments alongside Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Fico said Slovakia has the same veto as Germany: "We are a sovereign country."
The dispute stems from a letter Merz sent to European Council President António Costa, arguing that a commitment by all member states to help fill Ukraine's projected 70-billion-euro funding gap for 2027, with an expected EU contribution of about 45 billion euros, should be a prerequisite for discussing the 2028-2034 budget. Babiš also rejected the demand, noting the proposed budget already sets aside 100 billion euros for Ukraine.
Hungary and Bulgaria have likewise said they will not take part in a new loan for Kyiv. Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary opted out of the 90-billion-euro EU loan for Ukraine agreed last December. EU leaders will discuss Ukraine's financing at an informal summit in Dublin this week, with a special budget summit set for November 26-27.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：斯洛伐克总理罗伯特·菲佐官方肖像。图片来源：欧盟委员会（Jean-François Badias 摄，CC BY 4.0），经 Wikimedia Commons，本站档案图复用另存新名。 / Photo: Official portrait of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. European Commission (photo by Jean-François Badias, CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons; GSM archive reuse.
