Merz's call to include funds for Ukraine in seven-year EU budget rebuffed

Ukraine crisisMerz's call to include funds for Ukraine in seven-year EU budget rebuffed Only Estonia and Latvia supported the proposal of the German chancellorBRUSSELS, November 13. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's demand to include funds for Ukraine in the European Union’s seven-year budget, which would mean cutting aid to poorer EU countries in 2028-2034, has been met negatively by member nations, even Kiev's most ardent supporters, Brussels portal Rapporteur reported. Merz's demand for financing Ukraine has divided EU leaders. Even Ukraine's main allies are afraid that Merz's threats will complicate budget negotiations, the portal notes. Donors and beneficiaries The portal says that along with Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which initially refused to participate in financing Ukraine, Slovenia and even Ireland, which holds the EU presidency, opposed allocating money for Ukraine in the EU budget. All these countries are net beneficiaries of the association's budget. Of the beneficiaries, only Estonia and Latvia supported Merz's proposal. Among donor countries the German chancellor has so far seen support only from Austria, Sweden and Luxembourg. Thus, a new conflict over Ukraine and the EU budget is shaping up along the budget contours that traditionally lead to financial disputes in Europe - between payers and recipients of the European money. The budget is formed from the contributions of the EU member states distributed in proportion to the size of their economies. The difference between a country's contribution to the EU budget and the subsidies it receives determines whether a country is a net donor or a net beneficiary of the budget, and the composition of these groups has remained virtually unchanged for decades. German hardliner German magazine Der Spiegel noted that there are three issues on which Merz stands firm that irk his EU colleagues - he demands Germany participate in possible negotiations with Russia on Ukraine, that all EU members fund Kiev without exception, and a reduction of the new single budget of the European Union for 2028-2034. The story says the chancellor will obviously not be able to get everything he wants, but he is antagonizing even countries such as Poland and Romania, not to mention Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Merz makes demands Earlier, the Financial Times reported that in a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa Merz, before the summits of the European Political Community and the EU in Dublin, allegedly threatened to block the adoption of the budget if all member states did not commit to providing assistance to Ukraine. Later, he openly said that Ukraine's support should be fully reflected in the budget: "This is a common European task, not the task of individual members." The chancellor asked Costa to make Ukraine aid "a priority" on the agenda of the informal EU summit on November 26-27. The European Commission estimated Kiev’s funds shortage in 2027 at 70 billion euros, of which the EU wants to provide 45 billion. 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