The informal summit that ended in Copenhagen last night was about EU leaders talking to each other, not making decisions.
The European Commission had proposed before the summit that Ukraine should be able to receive interest-free repair loans of up to 140 billion euros from frozen Russian assets in the EU. According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the proposal received a positive response.
Kristersson believes that the opportunities for an EU agreement later on using the frozen Russian assets have "increased dramatically".
It hasn't sounded this positive in a long time, he says the day after the summit.
However, there are still countries that have objections. For example, Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are located, is afraid of being affected by Russian claims for damages.
Still blocking
EU President António Costa tested an idea to get Ukraine's membership negotiations started, which are being blocked by Hungary. The idea is that decisions to open different negotiation chapters should be able to be taken by majority decision and not require unanimity. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was clear that he does not intend to agree to it.
Kristersson does not think that Ukraine's President Zelenskyj is dissatisfied with the EU leaders' discussions.
I don't think he is at all surprised that Hungary is blocking a faster way into the EU. It's no news, says the Prime Minister.
The EU summit transitioned on Thursday to a larger European summit, EPC, where leaders from non-EU countries can also participate. Then Kristersson will meet Zelenskyj.
Not Nato
At Wednesday's EU summit, it was also discussed how the EU can support member states' armament through loan financing and by facilitating the build-up of a larger defense industry in various ways. The goal is for EU countries to be sufficiently armed by 2030 to deter Russia from starting new wars.
The European Commission will present a "roadmap" at the summit in Brussels at the end of October on how to achieve the goal, where concrete projects will be identified, such as a "drone wall".
But there is resistance to the EU dealing with defense issues.
The EU is not Nato. I think quite a few more than I expressed, albeit politely, says Kristersson.
It's important not to complicate the forms of cooperation.
Sweden also wants to protect its defense industrial cooperation with non-EU countries, such as the United Kingdom, the USA, Norway, and Canada.
Do not exclude good cooperation with other countries, says Kristersson.
