No deal on Ukraine aid? Then no deal on EU budget, Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared he will block the European Union's long-term budget unless all 27 member states agree to support a new financial package for Ukraine, according to coverage from Reuters, Euronews, Meduza, and Ukrainska Pravda. The ultimatum targets four specific holdout nations — Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic — whose resistance has stalled consensus on additional Kyiv funding. Merz framed the demand as a matter of fair burden-sharing, arguing that Germany should not shoulder a disproportionate share of EU support for Ukraine while other members refuse to contribute. The threat injects new urgency into negotiations ahead of an upcoming EU summit where both the budget and Ukraine assistance are on the agenda.

Coverage emphasizes the hardening of Germany's position under Merz, with Reuters reporting his insistence that "all EU states must back Ukraine" as a precondition for budget approval. Euronews notes that European Council President Antonio Costa is actively seeking to reassure Merz and defuse the crisis before the summit. Multiple outlets, including Yahoo News aggregating wire reports, highlight Merz's complaint about unfair burden distribution and his push to elevate Ukraine aid to the top of the summit agenda. The coordinated messaging across German and EU-level sources suggests a deliberate strategy to pressure the four holdouts rather than an off-the-cuff remark.

The standoff reflects deeper fractures within the EU over Ukraine policy that have persisted since Russia's full-scale invasion. Hungary under Viktor Orban has repeatedly blocked or delayed aid packages, while Slovakia's Robert Fico has shifted his government's stance toward skepticism of military support. Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have at times joined objections over fiscal or procedural grounds. The EU's seven-year budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework, requires unanimity, giving any single member state effective veto power. Merz's linkage of the two issues — budget and Ukraine aid — raises the stakes by threatening the bloc's entire financial architecture unless consensus on Kyiv is reached.

What to watch next: whether Costa's diplomatic outreach produces concessions from the four holdouts before the summit, whether Merz follows through on the veto threat if they do not, and whether the EU can craft a compromise that satisfies Berlin's demand for burden-sharing without fracturing unity further. Coverage does not specify the exact size or structure of the new Ukraine loan Merz wants prioritized, nor does it indicate whether the four targeted governments have responded publicly to the ultimatum.