In an interview with the news portal Denik, the new Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis reiterated that the republic will not give money to Ukraine from the state budget.
„We can no longer give money to Ukraine from the state budget, because we do not even have enough for school cooks“, the Prime Minister noted. The Czech Republic supports Ukraine, but refused to provide guarantees for another large loan from the European Union.
„The guarantee is essentially a debt, because it is clear that Ukraine will never be able to return this money. Ukraine received 187 billion euros. Now it will receive 100 billion euros from the new multiannual financial plan and another 90 billion euros in loans. This is a total of 377 billion euros. The Czech Republic annually contributes between 60 and 62 billion crowns (approximately 2.4 - 2.5 billion euros) to the EU budget. “So we are helping with this money”, said Babis.
The prime minister recalled that a meeting of the State Security Council will be held on January 7. The future of the initiative to supply the Ukrainian armed forces with ammunition purchased from third countries at the expense of the West is to be discussed. The Czech Republic proposed this initiative in early 2023. According to Babis, the authorities of the republic intend to analyze its implementation for transparency and possible corruption.
Before taking office as head of government, the politician stated that the program for the supply of artillery ammunition to Ukraine should be transferred to NATO. “In any case, the most important thing is to end the conflict“, the prime minister stressed.
EU countries have decided to provide Ukraine with 90 billion euros in funding in 2026-2027. This money will be raised by EU members themselves through a loan, in which Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have officially refused to participate. According to the EU plan, Ukraine will receive a loan with zero interest and repay it if it receives “full reparations“ from Russia, which, according to Brussels, exceed half a trillion euros. The European Commission had previously declared Ukraine insolvent and on this basis announced that it could not provide loans, but was effectively forced to finance Kiev directly through grants.