Merz threatens to block the EU's next budget unless every member state commits to funding Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned that Germany will block the European Union's next seven-year budget unless every member state commits to sharing the cost of funding Ukraine, in a letter dated 6 November to European Council President António Costa, first reported by the Financial Times. Ukraine faces a funding gap of about €70 billion next year; the EU is preparing to cover about €45 billion of it, while Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Bulgaria have ruled out contributing. The budget itself, for 2028 to 2034, needs every member's agreement. No budget has been blocked — this is a stated condition, set out before EU leaders meet in Dublin this week.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- Checking claims4 of 4 claims checked
- 4Human gateWe are here
4 of 4 claims checked so far · step 4 of 4: Human gate
Key points
- Merz's letter of 6 November ties Germany's support for the EU's 2028–2034 budget to every member state funding Ukraine — the budget needs unanimity, so the threat can block it.
- Ukraine's 2027 funding gap is about €70 billion; the EU is preparing about €45 billion of it.
- Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Bulgaria have ruled out contributing; the first three already opted out of the ongoing €90 billion loan.
Show more (1)
- EU leaders take up Ukraine's financing in Dublin this week and again at a special council on 26–27 November.
What happened
The EU's long-term budget is agreed by all 27 members together, which gives any one government a veto — and gives Germany, the bloc's largest net contributor, particular weight when it chooses to use it.
The immediate argument is about 2027: Kyiv needs about €70 billion of outside financing next year, and the argument over who pays has been running since the €90 billion loan was agreed with opt-outs for the countries that refused to join it.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- What Merz's letter says, in its own quoted words: German support for the 2028–2034 budget is conditional on a collective commitment to fund Ukraine.
- The size of Ukraine's 2027 gap (about €70 billion), the EU's planned share (about €45 billion), and the four states that have ruled out contributing.
What we don't know yet
- Whether Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Bulgaria will agree to contribute — none had answered the letter in the reporting read.
- Whether Germany would in the end block the budget, and what a compromise would look like.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The letter was first reported by the Financial Times and seen by Rapporteur, whose account carries the quoted wording; Meduza's report of the same letter, citing the FT, agrees on the condition and the addressees. The budget requires unanimity, so a German refusal would block it.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The gap, the EU's €45 billion share and the four holdouts are stated in the same terms by Rapporteur and Meduza; the €90 billion loan opt-out and interest arrangement are Rapporteur's account of the letter's context.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Dublin request and the Costa spokesperson's confirmation are reported by Rapporteur; the 2028-onwards budget argument is Merz's, as quoted from the letter.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The €31 billion total and the GDP-share ranking are the Kiel Institute's figures as reported by Rapporteur; the uneven-burden complaint is Merz's own position in the letter, carried as such.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Merz is using the one lever no member can ignore — the budget itself — to end the arrangement under which a handful of countries carry Ukraine's financing while others opt out. Whether the four holdouts move, or call his bluff, will shape both the EU's budget and Ukraine's war funding.
Background
The EU approves a €90 billion loan for Ukraine; Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia secure an opt-out, and the other 24 members share the interest costs.
Merz writes to Costa and von der Leyen making Germany's support for the next EU budget conditional on all members funding Ukraine.
EU leaders meet in Dublin, where Ukraine's financing will be raised; a special European Council follows on 26–27 November.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — Merz's condition is set out in his letter, and the four holdout states' answers, and the Dublin discussion, are still to come.