Fico warns EU's next seven-year budget will be a hard sell

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says the European Union's next long-term budget will be a grind to agree on. Speaking to Slovak broadcaster TA3 on Saturday, he flagged the fight over proposed cuts to agricultural and regional-development spending. The scuffle pits the bloc's biggest payers against its smaller members.

Fico's read is simple: the big contributors want to write smaller checks because of pressure on their own finances at home. Smaller states want the funding protected, arguing the money narrows the gap between richer and poorer regions and keeps farms afloat. Those two instincts don't mix in a room where every euro has to be signed off unanimously.

He also threw in a warning shot. According to Fico, some EU countries have threatened to trim future funds headed Slovakia's way after Bratislava refused to back a proposed €70 billion loan for Ukraine. That claim comes straight from the PM's own mouth — the countries involved weren't named.

The numbers involved are enormous. European Council President Antonio Costa has floated a 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework worth nearly €2 trillion, and suggested funding it through bloc-wide levies to spare national budgets from cuts. The plan, known as New Own Resources, would target things like vapes, e-cigarettes and digital services.

That idea already has skeptics. German Minister of State for Europe Gunther Krichbaum dismissed Costa's proposal, signaling the budget negotiation could stall well before it reaches a finish line. Slovakia's PM, for his part, isn't betting on a smooth ride.

What happens next is the unglamorous part: months of haggling over who pays in and who gets paid out. Fico's message is that the mood is sour, the wallets are guarded, and nobody is showing up ready to compromise.