Czech and Slovak prime ministers reject EU call for more Ukraine funding

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico have rejected a call by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for all EU member states to help cover Ukraine’s budget deficit next year. They said so in opening speeches at a joint meeting of the Czech and Slovak governments in Bratislava on Tuesday.

Babiš said the EU budget proposal already included funding for Ukraine and called for European leaders to appoint their own representatives to peace negotiations. He said it was unacceptable for the United States to negotiate on Europe’s behalf. Fico described Merz’s approach as blackmail and said Slovakia had the same veto power as Germany.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have already secured an exemption from guarantees for a planned 90-billion-euro EU loan to Ukraine. However, Kyiv estimates it will face a budget shortfall of around 70 billion euros next year.