PM Fico Opposes Tying Further Ukraine Loan to Next EU Budget

Brussels, 15 October (TASR-correspondent) - Slovakia will not participate in the next planned European Union (EU) loan to Ukraine and will again seek an opt-out, while it also rejects linking the loan to negotiations on the EU's long-term budget for 2028–2034, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said on Wednesday (14 October) following a meeting of the Visegrad Four prime ministers (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in Brussels, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. At the two-day EU summit in Brussels, Fico expects there will likely be efforts to include a political statement in the European Council conclusions saying that a decision on a further loan to Ukraine will be made at the December meeting. "On behalf of the Slovak government, I warn in advance that this further multi-billion-euro loan to Ukraine cannot be linked to the EU budget for 2028-2034," said Fico, adding that it would be very dangerous to make support for individual countries' demands during negotiations on the EU's long-term budget conditional on their participation in the loan to Ukraine. Fico recalled that Slovakia had also opted out of the €90-billion loan that is already being disbursed to Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine will never repay it and therefore considers it to be a grant. The prime minister also added that Slovakia will not prevent other countries from providing financial support to Kiev, but it will not take part in such a mechanism itself. According to the Slovak prime minister, another coordination meeting on migration is scheduled for Friday morning, while this subject will also be on the agenda at the end of the summit. Fico also praised Wednesday's meeting of V4 leaders, which he described as efficient and conducted in line with the agreed agenda. If necessary, the countries could hold a further coordination meeting in Brussels on Thursday or Friday (16 October). The V4 prime ministers discussed mainly competitiveness measures and the EU's long-term budget for 2028-2034, which the member states should agree on by the end of the year. In this context, the V4 countries will propose three specific amendments to the European Council conclusions. jrg