EU Backs €70B Request as Fico Rebuffs New Loan

European leaders expressed strong support for Ukraine's request for an additional €70 billion in financial aid for 2027, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement to journalists on October 17. European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among the key interlocutors who showed understanding towards the substantial funding request.

Zelensky expressed gratitude to European partners for their unity in supporting Ukraine, stating that meetings held prior to the summit demonstrated a strong commitment to providing assistance. He emphasized that resolving Ukraine's budgetary gap is a top priority, alongside urgent calls for air defense packages.

However, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced that their countries will not contribute to the €70 billion aid package for Ukraine in 2027. Fico criticized the linkage between future EU budgetary decisions and external financial support for Ukraine, describing such arrangements as risky for the bloc's cohesion.

He also stated that Slovakia remains willing to assist Ukraine through other bilateral channels, such as education cooperation, road transport infrastructure, and electrical grid interconnections. Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar shared a similar stance. The Slovak and Hungarian objections could present procedural challenges for EU financial officials, although European institutions have previously used specialized budgetary mechanisms to circumvent single-member vetoes on funding for Ukraine.