00:00Four EU leaders have pushed back against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's demand to make
00:05approval of the bloc's next long-term budget conditional on fresh aid for Ukraine.
00:10Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzgerald called the move blackmail and threatened to use his
00:14country's veto.
00:16Czech Prime Minister Andrzej Babiš pointed to 100 billion euros already earmarked for
00:21Ukraine in the next EU budget, although the money would only become available from 2028.
00:27Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Macar opposed linking the two issues, saying his country
00:32could not take on more EU debt because of its budget deficit.
00:36Bulgaria's Roman Radev also called for an exemption from future Ukraine credit lines, citing high
00:42deficits.
00:43He said Sofia would continue supporting Ukraine through energy supplies.
00:48Brussels has promised around 45 billion euros to help close Ukraine's 70 billion euro funding
00:53gap next year.
00:54Merz says support for Kyiv is a matter of European security and its costs should be shared more
01:00fairly.
