COPENHAGUE – The leaders of the European Union spent a day in the Danish capital to discuss the means to strengthen the security of the continent.
“We are worried, I am very worried, and it’s time to act”, insisted Finnish Prime Minister Petteri ORPO with Politico on the sidelines of the summit.
But that did not quite go as planned: there was a lot of speeches, of course, but few results. Thus, the leaders are nonetheless worried than in arriving.
Here is what happened:
1. The frozen assets remain in the freezer, for the moment
EU countries were not ready to approve the European Commission project to use frozen Russian assets to finance a loan to Ukraine.
The European executive wants to offer kyiv a loan of 140 billion euros. How ? By exchanging liquidity from Russian assets due to a tailor -made borrowing contract with Euroclear, the financial institution based in Belgium which manages these assets. EU officials consider that this is a clever solution to bypass the issue of expropriation, which could break international law.
One of the reasons why the agreement has not been concluded in Copenhagen is that certain countries, especially Belgium, need to be reassured about the legal solidity of the plan.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever was the most prudent, because it is his country which would pay the price for possible legal action on the part of Russia.
After the summit, the president of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tried to reassure Belgium and the other reluctant countries by explaining that her plan did not provide for the confiscation of assets and that “the risks must be shared more widely”.
But that was not enough, or at least not yet. The next summit, at the end of the month, could be “on the day of the decision,” warned the president of the European Council, António Costa.
2. Message from leaders to the Commission: we are still responsible for defense
The two hours scheduled to speak of the common defense finally lasted twice as long.
While the countries have greatly praised the commission’s proposals, the leaders insisted for having more voices in the chapter.
Given the need to continue the discussions, the meetings between the 27 ministers of defense of the European Union and the high EU representative, Kaja Kallas, will be more frequent, specifies an EU responsible for the summit work.
The union still has to settle the details of the “drone wall”, which was not the subject of an agreement on Wednesday. It will be an “antidron system capable of quickly detecting, intercepting and, of course, if necessary, of neutralizing”, detailed Ursula von der Leyen.
France and Germany have expressed their skepticism with regard to a drone wall managed by the Commission, while the countries of the South grow for a broader concept that would also protect their borders.
3. Merz failed to impose his subjects
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz went to the top with the intention of talking about competitiveness. In vain.
“We will have two major discussion subjects: first, the competitiveness of European industry and the high, too high level of regulations in Europe,” he told journalists when he arrived in Copenhagen. “Second, we will unfortunately have to talk about war in Ukraine.”
It seems that Friedrich Merz did not bother to read the official program, which provided for a session on the defense and another on Ukraine. The public officials present at the summit, however, did not make any illusions that his message was intended for the Germans. The chancellor is subject to increasing pressure to revive the first economy of the continentand carry out the major reforms and the rapid recovery promised during his electoral campaign.
4. The royal invitations prevail over everything else
The final point of the Copenhagen summit was dictated by an invitation to dinner. The members of the Danish royal family received the leaders of the EU at 7 p.m. precise.
This meeting added the pressure of a deadline. But the security and defense session still lasted four hours, twice as long as the program provided, because the leaders went beyond the discussion points and spoke freely. António Costa, who presided over the meeting, did not dare to cut the microphone given the sensitive nature of the exchanges, reports an EU official, who denied that the discussions had lasted longer due to disagreements between the leaders.
The latter finally arrived at dinner. Only Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Put Frederiksen returned to the summit location for a press brief.
5. All club members want to decide who can enter it
António Costa’s idea of accelerating Ukraine’s candidacy to integrate the EU did not work. And It’s not a surprise.
As Politico reported it on Mondaythe Portuguese suggests modifying EU rules so that formal membership negotiations can start with the support of a qualified majority of managers, instead of unanimous consent. This proposal was rejected by the Hungarian Prime Minister, who is the European leader closest to the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Other countries, including France, the Netherlands and Greece, have also opposed it and buried the proposal.
During the summit, Viktor Orbán was one of the few leaders to talk about the plan. And it was to oppose it.
This article was first published by Politico in English, then was published in French by Jean-Christophe Catalon.
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
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Author: Nette Nöstlinger, Giorgio Leali
Published on: 2025-10-02 21:31:00
Source: www.politico.eu
