BRUSSELS — European Council President António Costa has kept discussions over Ukraine's financing needs for 2027 on the late-November agenda, despite German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's request to bring the issue forward to an earlier meeting of EU leaders.
In a letter to Merz seen by the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 10, Costa affirmed that Ukraine's financing needs would be addressed at the second of two special European Council meetings, to be held in Brussels on Nov. 26-27, alongside discussions on the EU's next seven-year budget.
"We will address this issue in the Special European Council on 26-27 November," Costa wrote, adding that the European Commission would be expected to submit a proposal on Ukraine's financing before the meeting.
The reply came after Merz wrote to Costa urging him to prioritize Ukraine's funding shortfall at an informal summit in Dublin on Nov. 13, arguing that European countries were sharing the financial burden of supporting Kyiv disproportionately.
Ukraine faces an estimated budget shortfall of 70 billion euros ($78.6 billion) in 2027, with the EU expected to cover approximately 45 billion euros ($50.5 billion). The EU has yet to agree on how to finance its share, with some member states resisting additional contributions.
In his Nov. 9 letter, Merz argued that providing financial support to Ukraine was a shared European responsibility, while complaining that bilateral assistance was being carried unfairly by a small number of member states. He has signaled he will block the EU's seven-year budget unless there is a deal on financial aid for Ukraine.
Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary and Bulgaria have pushed back against Germany's demand that all EU members share Ukraine's financing burden. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called Merz's approach "blackmail." Merz received Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar in Berlin on Tuesday, a day after the letter became public.
Costa's response indicates plans to "make time for a broad discussion on Ukraine at the upcoming informal European Council in Dublin," but leaves the previously scheduled financing discussions unchanged. The Nov. 26-27 special council will also address the bloc's next multiannual financial framework, covering 2028-2034.
