BRUSSELS - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signaled that he will block the European Union's seven-year budget unless there is a deal on financial aid for Ukraine, The Guardian reported. The report, written by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels, says the position has triggered accusations from some other European leaders.

According to The Guardian, some other European leaders have described the position as "typical blackmail." The newspaper's headline identifies the Slovak prime minister as a leader who accused Merz of blackmail, although the summary available for this story does not give the prime minister's name or the exact words he used. The headline and the summary agree that the accusations came from European leaders, but the summary does not say how many leaders have spoken out.

The Guardian also reported that Merz has complained that the burden of the aid is carried mostly by only a few member states. The summary does not say which states those are or how the burden is currently divided.

The summary of the report says the dispute sets the stage for stormy talks later, but it cuts off before stating when those talks will take place, so this story gives no date for them.

The available summary does not describe the terms of the budget or the aid package, the amount of money involved, or whether Merz has responded to the accusations. Those details are not contained in the source material for this story.

Taken together, the reporting describes a dispute in which the German chancellor has tied approval of the EU's seven-year budget to a deal on Ukraine aid, and other European leaders have answered with accusations of blackmail.

Sources: The Guardian: Merz accused of ‘blackmail’ by Slovak PM after demand for Ukraine aid in EU budget.