Merz threatens to block the EU budget over Ukraine funding

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has threatened to block the European Union's 2028–2034 budget unless all EU countries take part in funding Ukraine, including Czechia. According to a newspaper, Merz set out the demand in a letter to European Council President António Costa, sent a few days before the EU leaders' summit in Dublin.

The summit takes place on Thursday and Friday in the Irish capital. In the letter, Merz calls for a solution to Ukraine's funding gap: next year the country is estimated to be short of 70 billion euros (more than 1.7 trillion crowns). The paper reads the message as an ultimatum: if the conditions are not met, Germany will not support the future budget, which requires the agreement of all member states.

So far the EU has pledged to cover about 45 billion euros (almost 1.1 trillion crowns), and the European Commission is now working on ways to keep that promise. The paper recalls that four countries — Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria — have already made it clear they will not take part in financing Ukraine.

According to the paper, Merz wants to use Germany's leverage in the budget talks to secure money for Kyiv both next year and beyond. Berlin is also seeking to make future funding decisions possible by a qualified majority of EU countries. At present, every country must agree.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz