BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday reiterated his push to link the EU’s next budget to unanimous backing for a multibillion-euro Ukraine loan, despite Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico labeling the demand “classic blackmail.” Supporting Ukraine “is a shared European responsibility, not the responsibility of individual member states,” Merz told reporters at a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar. “That is why the question of how we will finance Ukraine in the coming years, if necessary, naturally belongs within the context of these budget negotiations.” Merz’s demand, which he also laid out in a letter to European Council President António Costa on Friday, has triggered a backlash.
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