Fico and Babiš reject Merz's call to fund Ukraine loan, calling it blackmail

Fico rejects Merz's loan demand

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico used a joint press conference in Bratislava on Tuesday, 10 November, to reject a further loan to Ukraine. He said Slovakia will not take part in the planned 70 billion euro loan, a figure he gave himself. The dispute goes back to a letter from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to European Council President António Costa. In it, Merz tied Germany's support for the EU's next seven-year budget to a demand that all member states share fairly in financing Ukraine in 2027 and later years. If that does not happen, Germany is ready to block the budget talks, according to the letter as reported by the Financial Times, which saw it first.

Fico called the approach typical blackmail and said Slovakia has the same veto right in the EU as Berlin. He described himself as a small lord facing the big lord Merz.

“What the federal chancellor is doing is typical blackmail. And I reject it.”

The loan at stake

Ukraine estimates it will be short of about 70 billion euros next year because of the ongoing war with Russia. The EU has pledged to cover roughly two-thirds of that sum, 45 billion euros, but where that money will come from is still undecided. The European Commission is considering joint bonds among other options. Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria have already signalled that they do not want to provide further financial aid to Kyiv.

Estimated Ukrainian shortfall70

EU pledged share45

Estimated Ukrainian shortfall

70 billion euros

EU pledged share

45 billion euros

Data from the article text

Babiš and the Czech position

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš took a milder tone but agreed with Fico that European states need a bigger say in talks to end the war. He said Merz had probably forgotten that the draft EU budget already contains money for Ukraine. Babiš also rejected the idea that the Czech Republic is in a subordinate position.

“We are not in a subordinate position. We are a sovereign Czech Republic.”

Peace talks and a Slovak candidate

Both prime ministers argued that Europe should take part in negotiations to end the war rather than leave them to others. Babiš said EU heads of state should already nominate their representatives to negotiate on peace. Fico proposed that Maroš Šefčovič, a Slovak and vice-president of the European Commission, lead the talks on the EU's behalf. He called Šefčovič a competent candidate and counted his studies in Moscow as one of his strengths.

Fico also described a private talk he had held with Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky. He said he had been literally shocked by the conversation about the war and its future course, but he declined to share details. He said he never discloses such behind-the-scenes exchanges.

The Bratislava consultations

The Czech and Slovak governments met on Tuesday morning in Bratislava for their tenth intergovernmental consultation, according to the Slovak government office. The agenda was joint projects and further development of cooperation between the two countries. Both prime ministers used their opening remarks to push back against Merz's call before the meeting moved on to these topics. Fico added that peace is the basis of Slovak policy and that the war is not a computer game.