Bulgaria unable to provide funds for loans to Ukraine; Robert Fico condemned "blackmail" by Germany

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev has confirmed that his country is not in a position to allocate funds for loans to Ukraine. He made the statement during a joint briefing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Varna.

"Bulgaria has never ceased its support for Ukraine. We provide free aid to thousands of Ukrainian families, assist with electricity supplies, help repair the energy grid, and support the maintenance of railway transport. We are currently facing a major deficit and are required to stay within the 3% deficit threshold, so we simply do not have any extra funds. However, Bulgaria is not blocking EU decisions. We allow other countries to provide assistance as they are able," the prime minister said.

Radev was also asked about the origin of the maritime drones that attacked merchant vessels within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. "These drone attacks are a consequence of the military escalation of the conflict. We do not know the exact culprit. Investigators and experts are still at work but have not reached definitive conclusions. We operate on facts, not speculation," the Bulgarian prime minister noted.

Von der Leyen did not provide a detailed response when asked about the financing of Ukraine.

Meanwhile,  Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico condemned "blackmail" by Germany, which sought to make the approval of the European Union’s 2028–2034 budget conditional upon a commitment to provide funding for Ukraine.

"We must respond to this blackmail today," Fico asserted on Tuesday during a press conference in Bratislava alongside his Czech counterpart, Andrej Babiš. "What the  Federal Chancellor is doing is a classic case of blackmail, and I reject it," he continued.

 In the same vein, he noted that Slovakia possesses the same veto power as Berlin and, as a sovereign nation, holds its own views. Furthermore, he indicated that he would be holding several hours of talks with Babiš, during which this issue is expected to be addressed.

Previously, it was reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had threatened to block the EU budget unless member states commit to continued support for Ukraine through 2027 and beyond.

• Merz has threatened to block the EU budget for 2028–2034 

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Source of information: Global News Agencies including REUTERS / TASS / AFP / ANADOLU / INT.RU / Al Jazeera / CNN