The head of the government of Slovakia, Robert Fico, during his visit to Uzhgorod, promised to support amendments to the European Union budget for 2024-2027, aimed at providing Ukraine with 50 billion euros.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal announced this on his Telegram channel.
What Shmygal said
The Ukrainian Prime Minister said that Slovakia will support the Ukraine Facility program, which provides for the provision of 50 billion euros by the European Union to Ukraine.
Shmygal also said that he and his Slovak colleague had come to an agreement on a number of issues, including the issue of the Slovak company supplying equipment for the construction of defensive lines.
The head of the Ukrainian government noted that Bratislava will not block Ukraine’s purchase of weapons and equipment from Slovak businesses.
In addition, according to Shmygal, the Prime Minister of Slovakia assured him of support for Ukraine’s European integration aspirations.
There have been no statements from Fico himself yet; there was no press conference following the meeting. The Slovak news agency TASR, citing Shmygal, reported that Bratislava and Kyiv will develop pragmatic relations.
According to the agency, despite differences in views on a number of issues, Slovakia and Ukraine will pursue a policy of new pragmatism, and the negotiations between the heads of government will open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
An emergency EU summit is expected to be held on February 1 to agree on amendments to the community budget until 2027 with the goal of providing Ukraine with 50 billion euros for four years.
At the December EU summit, these amendments were blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Hungary proposes to allocate funds from extra-budgetary sources and gradually, on an annual basis.
The Slovak Prime Minister stated that assistance to Ukraine should be provided without harm to the EU budget, noting that Ukraine receives much more money from the EU than some member countries.
Regarding his visit to Uzhgorod, Fico stated that he plans to inform Shmygal that Slovakia will stop providing military assistance to Ukraine and does not support its aspirations to join the North Atlantic Alliance.
He noted that Slovakia is ready to use the right of veto in NATO, since Ukraine’s entry into the alliance risks becoming the foundation of a third world war.
The Slovak Prime Minister stated about Ukraine’s desire to join the EU that Kyiv must fulfill the conditions imposed on all candidates. Fico also stated that Ukraine is under complete control of the United States.
Earlier, the head of the German Ministry of Finance, Christian Lindner, said that Germany does not want to help Ukraine alone.
