In brief: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says Friedrich Merz shouted at him and threatened Slovakia’s funding during an earlier dispute over sanctions against Russia. Fico recalled the alleged call while accusing the German chancellor of “blackmail” over Ukraine financing. The latest clash concerns Germany’s threat to block the EU’s next long-term budget unless all members commit to supporting Kyiv.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed on Tuesday, Nov. 10, that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had shouted at him and threatened to stop Slovakia’s funding during an earlier dispute over sanctions against Russia.
Fico recalled the telephone conversation after talks with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in Bratislava, Slovak newspaper Denník N reported.
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According to RBC-Ukraine’s account, Fico said Merz had called while Slovakia was blocking sanctions against Russia, challenged his actions and threatened the country’s funding.
The Slovak leader raised the alleged exchange while attacking Merz’s latest attempt to secure financial commitments for Ukraine.
“What the federal chancellor is doing is typical blackmail, and I reject it,” Fico said.
Fico challenges Germany’s budget leverage
The immediate dispute concerns Merz’s decision to link negotiations over the EU’s next long-term budget to an agreement on financing Ukraine.
Fico insisted that Slovakia had the same veto rights as Germany and could determine its own position as a sovereign member of the bloc.
Speaking before the joint Slovak-Czech government meeting, he said he wanted to coordinate a response with Babiš, describing Berlin’s approach as pressure that Bratislava would not accept.
Babiš also rejected threats and argued that European governments should participate directly in negotiations over ending Russia’s war, given the financial and economic costs they were bearing.
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The disagreement places two competing priorities at the center of EU negotiations: Germany’s demand that all members share Ukraine’s financing burden and the refusal of several governments to join additional support arrangements.
Merz makes Ukraine funding a budget condition
Merz has threatened an EU budget veto unless all member states commit to supporting Ukraine in 2027 and beyond, according to a letter reported by the Financial Times on Monday, Nov. 9.
Addressing European Council President António Costa, Merz made Germany’s support for the bloc’s 2028-34 budget conditional on a collective commitment to help cover Ukraine’s needs.
He also called for a reliable financing arrangement from 2028 onward, including interest payments on outstanding Ukraine-related debt.
Ukraine faces an additional financing gap of approximately $78 billion in 2027. That requirement comes on top of the existing $101 billion EU loan covering 2026 and 2027.
The EU’s long-term budget requires unanimous approval in the Council, followed by the European Parliament’s consent. That gives both Germany and Slovakia leverage over the final agreement.
Slovakia’s opposition predates the latest confrontation
Fico had already rejected participation in another Ukraine loan in October, criticizing efforts to connect assistance for Kyiv with negotiations over the EU budget.
At the time, he said Slovakia remained prepared to cooperate with Ukraine through bilateral projects, including education, cross-border transport infrastructure, and electricity connections.
He nevertheless opposed another EU-level loan facility and said Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar shared that position.
The objections followed an October European Council summit at which leaders tasked the European Commission with developing proposals to address Ukraine’s additional financing needs. Discussions over the mechanism continued while payments proceeded under existing arrangements.
Berlin frames support for Kyiv as European security
Merz has repeatedly argued that assistance to Ukraine serves Europe’s own security interests.
Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue conference on Oct. 21, he rejected Ukraine’s capitulation as an acceptable outcome, saying it would amount to the capitulation of Europe as a whole.
He maintained that Germany and its partners were supporting Ukraine to bring the war to an end as quickly as possible.
Merz also described Russia’s invasion as an attack on the political order established in Europe since 1990, linking Ukraine’s defense to the continent’s wider security.
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