As EU leaders shape the 2028–2034 budget, Friedrich Merz has warned that Germany could block the seven-year plan unless it secures long-term support for Ukraine, asking EU Council President António Costa to prioritize the issue at a meeting in Dublin.

Ukraine is expected to need an additional €70 billion in 2027, beyond the €90 billion loan agreed by EU leaders last December, and the EU has pledged to cover about €47 billion of that projected gap.

A previous proposal to use €210 billion in frozen Russian state assets as backing for Ukraine’s financing failed amid Belgian opposition and other countries’ concerns, while Germany’s backing is pivotal to approval of the next EU budget.

The dispute reaches beyond Ukraine aid: the budget sets spending limits for agriculture, regional development and research, and is also testing whether future Ukraine support can move from unanimity to qualified-majority voting.

At a Berlin meeting with Friedrich Merz, Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar opposed tying Ukraine aid to the broader EU budget, saying it was not a good approach but did not amount to blackmail.

Magyar argued that Ukraine aid should not be bundled with a budget that also funds farmers, students and businesses, and said Hungary’s contribution to European security, including protecting the EU’s southern border, deserved recognition.

Hungary would oppose taking on new EU-level debt while it works to control its public deficit, Magyar said, but it would negotiate a budget solution.

Magyar also opposed cuts to agricultural and cohesion funding, while saying Hungary would negotiate constructively; he said he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed on a fresh start in relations and noted progress on support for Hungarian minorities in Ukraine.

Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Czechia have signaled reluctance to provide further financial aid to Ukraine, and Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia are already exempt from contributing to interest on the existing €90 billion loan.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the Czech Republic would not guarantee new loans to Ukraine, while asserting that its vote in the European Council carries the same weight as Germany’s.

Babiš said the EU budget already includes €100 billion for Ukraine and criticized the EU’s exclusion from peace talks, warning against leaving negotiations to the United States.

The budget dispute is unfolding alongside US-mediated Ukraine–Russia talks scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi, where security guarantees and possible territorial exchanges are among the reported issues; European officials are expected to be present, but the main negotiations are expected to remain trilateral.