The EU agreed on Friday that it would loan Kyiv €90 billion ($77.6 billion) of its own funds to support Ukraine’s defense through 2027. But which EU countries will not be contributing to the loan?
Failed reparations loan
Since early autumn, the European Commission had been fighting to secure support for a more ambitious plan – a reparations loan backed by €210 billion ($181 billion) of Russian sovereign assets immobilized in Europe, so-named because Ukraine would not be required to repay it before receiving financial compensation from Russia after the war.
Despite support from European leaders and EU officials, the plan failed at Friday’s Brussels summit – in large part due to opposition from Belgium, which holds the majority of the Russian funds in its Euroclear bank and feared retaliation from Russia.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever’s determination that the Belgian taxpayer not be placed at risk by the scheme – if Russia successfully sued for its money back, for example – paid off. Instead, the EU and its member states have pledged to take on joint debt to avoid this outcome.
Just three EU member states have avoided shouldering any of that debt, and Belgium is not among them. Instead, the three EU member states closest to Russia negotiated exemptions from contributing – Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Hungary
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban said that Hungary’s exemption would spare “our children and grandchildren from the burden of this massive €90 billion loan,” – adding that Hungary “remains the voice of peace in Europe,” as per the BBC.
Hungary has repeatedly used its EU veto to block aid to Ukraine. On Dec. 12, EU finance ministers found a loophole which would prevent Hungary from vetoing its reparations loan plan by voting to maintain the freeze on Russian assets in Europe “until the end of Russian aggression” – a move which sparked fury in Budapest.
In a statement at the time, Hungary’s permanent representatives to the EU condemned the news as an “unprecedented decision to extend sanctions on an incorrect legal basis in order to circumvent unanimous decision-making.”
Slovakia
According to Slovak news agency TASR, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that by negotiating an exemption from the loan, he had “kept his word” to Slovakia.
Fico said that, although he could not prevent other states from supporting Ukraine financially, to do so would not strengthen Ukraine’s position in peace negotiations – describing the €90 billion ($77.6 billion) loan as a “fatal mistake.”
The Slovak prime minister added that the reparations loan plan carried “enormous risks.”
Fico was the only leader of an EU member state to attend Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day military parade in Moscow this summer. Slovakia, along with Hungary, remains largely reliant on Russian gas – and is vehemently opposed to the EU’s plan to phase out imports by 2027.
Czechia
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, in contrast, agreed with the EU conclusions on Ukraine. Sworn in on Monday, Babis previously served as Czech prime minister from 2017-2021.
As per the BBC, he said that he had “ensured that the Czech Republic will not guarantee the loan –- exactly as I promised.”
Despite running on the promise of a “Czech First” government, Babiš has previously rejected the idea that he is “in a club” with fellow right-wing populists Orban and Fico – saying that he looks “for allies for the Czech Republic everywhere.”
During his election campaign, the Czech billionaire promised to cut support to Ukraine in favor of domestic spending, but later said that he had “expressed support” for President Volodymyr Zelensky in an Oct. 9 phone call and hinted that he plans to visit Kyiv in the new year.