Babiš and Fico hit back at Merz over his ultimatum on Ukraine aid

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico reacted sharply to a letter from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in which he threatened to block the EU's next budget. Merz wants every EU country to pledge in advance to fund Ukraine in 2027 and beyond.

What Merz wrote

In a letter to European Council President António Costa, the chancellor warned that if all member states do not commit to financial support for Ukraine, he will not allow the EU budget to pass. He wants the funding shortfall addressed: by his estimate, Ukraine will face a budget gap of 70 billion euros (more than 1.7 trillion crowns) next year.

Merz sent the letter just days before an EU leaders' summit in Dublin, Ireland, on Thursday and Friday. The European Union is currently locked in difficult negotiations over its budget for 2028–2034.

The reaction from Babiš and Fico

Babiš said Merz apparently fails to realize that the EU budget already includes 100 billion euros for Ukraine. He demanded that the EU become a strong international player again. In the prime minister's words, it is unacceptable for the European Union to be left out of the peace talks. “When will the European Council finally nominate the people who will actually take part in those talks?” Babiš asked, adding that we are all paying for this, and not only in energy prices. He rejected the idea of the Americans negotiating in place of the EU: “We will sit in the corner, and they will then graciously tell us the result.”

Fico went even further, calling the German chancellor's words plain blackmail and saying he wants to discuss the matter with Babiš one-on-one. “Perhaps we will leave you and ask the deputy prime ministers to take over chairing the government meeting,” he said. According to Fico, if someone says that without support for a 70 billion euro loan to Ukraine (about 1.71 trillion crowns) there will be no way forward, then others have the same say: they hold the same veto as the German federal chancellor.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz