Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia Resist Guaranteeing New €70bn EU Loan for Ukraine
Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia are seeking to avoid financially guaranteeing a major new EU loan package for Ukraine while pressing for more EU budget funds for themselves, German daily Welt reports, drawing sharp criticism from German diplomats.
A fresh dispute over how to fund Ukraine is exposing divisions inside the European Union as three member states push to protect their own balance sheets.
Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia want to be exempted from financially guaranteeing a new EU loan for Ukraine, according to a report by German newspaper Welt on 26 October. At the same time, the three governments are said to be lobbying for substantial EU budget funding for their own countries.
The broader plan under discussion in Brussels foresees about €70 billion in additional support for Ukraine next year, Welt reported. Canada, Japan and other partners could potentially cover part of that amount. The reported stance from Budapest, Prague and Bratislava has triggered sharp criticism among German diplomats, who see it as an attempt to benefit from EU money while sidestepping shared financial responsibility for Kyiv.
For Ukraine, the outcome will affect its ability to keep government services running during the war with Russia. External support underpins spending on salaries, pensions and reconstruction. Loan guarantees from EU states with stronger credit profiles help lower borrowing costs and send a signal of long‑term backing.
On the ground, the need for that funding is visible in how Ukraine responds to Russian attacks on infrastructure. Regional authorities in Bukovyna said on 26 October that debris from a drone had damaged an energy facility in Chernivtsi region, forcing emergency power outages. Repairing such damage quickly depends in part on reliable foreign financing.
Inside the EU, the three Central European states each have their own political calculations. Hungary has repeatedly taken a more Russia‑friendly line and slowed earlier EU decisions on Ukraine. Slovakia’s current leadership has voiced skepticism about some forms of support for Kyiv. Czechia has generally backed Ukraine but faces domestic budget strains. Seeking an opt‑out from loan guarantees can be presented at home as defending taxpayers while still endorsing aid in other forms.
For Germany, which has cast support for Ukraine as a core security interest, the risk is that a patchwork of exemptions erodes the sense of collective effort and emboldens Moscow to bet on EU fatigue.
The next decisions to track are whether EU leaders agree on rules that allow specific countries to abstain from guaranteeing the loan while keeping the overall package intact, how much of the €70 billion is ultimately approved, and whether outside partners such as Canada and Japan increase their role if internal EU guarantees fall short. A failure to reach a durable compromise would raise questions in Kyiv and Moscow alike about Europe’s staying power.
Sources
- OSINT