Eastern Europe is unwilling to guarantee loans to aid Ukraine, and Germany is furious

According to Politico magazine, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic hope to be exempted from financial guarantee obligations in the new round of 70 billion euro loan projects, just like the previous 90 billion euro loan plan to assist Ukraine.

A German diplomat who did not want to be named told Politico that making such a request was "extremely ridiculous" and it showed "how unrealistic some people's understanding of the EU budget issue is." He believed that asking for exemption from guarantee obligations for aid loans to Ukraine "is consistent with the hope of obtaining more regional development funds from the EU budget." "How can anyone really think that our taxpayers would be willing to allocate more of the Cohesion Fund to countries that refuse to help address the biggest challenges that threaten our common security? Real cohesion is impossible if there is free riding."

The Russia-Ukraine war that has lasted for four and a half years has made Ukraine highly dependent on financial assistance from Western allies. According to the current arrangement, a new round of 70 billion euros in aid loans will be shared by European countries, Canada and Japan, of which 45 billion will come from Europe.

In addition to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, which previously participated in the last round of 90 billion euros of loans to Ukraine, is now considering no longer providing financial guarantees. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that the war in Ukraine is draining the economies of European countries and causing social tension and political instability. He called for a speedy end to the conflict, adding: "The final outcome cannot be achieved through military means."