European Union leaders disagreed on Friday, November 13, over billions of euros in additional financial aid for war-ravaged Ukraine, ahead of consultations at a summit in Dublin. This was reported by dpa, writes UNN.
Details
The European Commission hopes that EU leaders will be able to agree by the end of the year to provide Ukraine with an additional 45 billion euros ($49.7 billion) for 2027.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz linked any agreement on new aid for Ukraine to the next multiannual EU budget, which must also be agreed by the end of the year.
Some countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, opposed linking the two issues. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico even spoke of blackmail by Merz.
The host of Friday's event, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, said he had "certain concerns" about linking the two agreements.
However, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and his Latvian counterpart, Andris Kulbergs, praised Merz's persistence.
"I liked Friedrich Merz's message that aid to Ukraine is also part of our core security and our core financing," Michal said in Dublin.
All of Europe must be committed, Kulbergs said.
Supplement
The EU has so far approved 90 billion euros for Ukraine for 2026 and 2027.
In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country's budget was short of 70 billion euros for the following year, 2027. Previously, the EU had covered about two-thirds of Ukraine's financial needs.
EU seeks to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s €70 billion funding shortfall10.11.26, 10:04