What’s Going on in the EU? Notes from the Heads of State/Government Meeting

Despite peace and calm domestically, did you know that Denmark is also playing a major diplomatic role in managing the war in Europe? Last month, I was fortunate to attend the Informal Meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government. 

So in case you missed it, here’s what happened at the Summit last month.

Background

This international summit, like many we are seeing this year, is on account of Denmark’s position in the presidency of the Council of the EU. It was envisioned as an opportunity to bring together at Christiansborg Palace the different heads of the countries in Europe, who are normally preoccupied with domestic affairs. The agenda echoes the current talks in Brussels: (1) European common defence and (2) support for Ukraine in the War with Russia.

For example, perhaps you had not yet heard of the proposal to use frozen Russian assets in Europe to fund Ukraine. There is also much talk on defense along the ‘Eastern Flank’, which deals with security in countries in Eastern Europe that are both members of the EU and NATO. Even those savvy with cross-EU politics should understand that these discussions are currently at the proposal stage. The hope is that this meeting will bring together the leaders of Europe to build consensus on defence and security.

Arrivals

The day opened with Danish PM Mette Frederiksen’s welcome speech to her European counterparts and other European dignitaries. Frederiksen set a rather pessimistic mood, describing the period in which we live as a ‘time of crisis’ and going as far as to say ‘we are at war, hybrid war’. The core of Frederiksen’s speech was on Ukraine and unity within the EU, as she noted that following airspace violations in Denmark, Poland and elsewhere, the whole of Europe is faced with a common threat from Russia. Frederiksen concluded with her hope that the fight for democracy and freedom is legitimate, no matter what terrors hybrid war might bring.

Frederiksen was followed by entries from Germany’s Mertz, Latvia’s Siliņa, Finland’s Orpo and more. The heads of state were also joined by some of the top diplomats in Europe  including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

The Summit

Following some late arrivals, the main event of the summit began: a working session behind closed doors. Despite being called an ‘Informal Meeting’, the entire event was very secure, DR called it the Copenhagen Police’s Greatest Mission in the last 16 years. This was only a few days after the drone panic over Denmark, after all. We were informed that the leaders would be available later in the day for interviews, and some would participate in the evening press conference.

Journalists present were treated to replays of the welcome footage. It was a very optimistic image to see the leaders of Europe walking through Christiansborg Palace to the singing of Goldschmidts Musikakademi’s Danish Choir. And of course, there was much posing with the European leaders, trying their best to affirm European solidarity. 

Bizarrely, the program stalled longer than anticipated, even accounting for the late arrivals. The silence throughout the day was broken when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tweeted towards the end of the session, aggressively protesting against any further European involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Suffice to say, it was speculated that Orbán stalled the talks as his policy on the issue of Ukraine has been to reject military involvement from the EU and to call for stopping aid. 

A Royal Mess

Following the tension at the end of the session, King Frederik and Queen Mary invited the European leaders to dine with them at Amalienborg Palace. Despite the attempts to derail the program, the Royal Family insisted on having the leaders at the planned time, going so far as to shuttle the leaders from Christiansborg and delay the press conference.

The next few hours are best described as ‘awkward’. Whereas the summit housed international press from around Europe and the world, the coverage of the Royal Dinner was relegated mostly to the Danish press. That was mainly TV2 and invited journalists. The scene at the press center was rather humorous, with most of the people there confused as to what was going on and the very few who could understand Danish and also knew that TV2 would cover the Royal Dinner exclusively, tuning into the live coverage. Some people even got tired and left.

During the dinner, King Frederik made a call to all leaders to show empathy to one another, quoting the Danish philosopher theologian Frederik K.E. Løgstrup. What I personally experienced though, was President of the European Council Spokesperson Maria Tomasik tweeting that the press conference would, in fact, happen at around 21:30.

Press Conference

The press conference was presented by António Costa (President of the European Council), Mette Frederiksen (Prime Minister of Denmark) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission).

President Costa opened by once again affirming the inseparability of European and Ukrainian Defense. The EU has put 115 billion Euros into Defense Funding, and it will take the cooperation of all member states to build up The Eastern Flank Watch and European Drone Wall. Costa also reiterated that the informal meeting has no decision-making involved. The next action step in a couple of weeks would be 2030 Defense Readiness Map, which has been revealed at the time of my writing. Costa further endorsed Frederiksen’s calls to Scandinavia and Southern Europe, insisting on 360 Degrees of Defense across the EU. Costa then concluded on his high hopes for the 19th package of sanctions against Russia.

Costa was followed by Danish PM Mette Frederiksen. Echoing his earlier words, Frederiksen said that the EU does not guarantee the security of Ukraine, but rather Ukraine guarantees Europe’s future security. Frederiksen expressed her commitment to supporting flagship projects for drone and anti-drone technologies, especially given the recent drone incursions in Denmark and similar incidents across Europe. During the conference, a TV2 reporter asked regarding a French claim that the ship that was used to launch drones against Denmark had been boarded. Frederiksen declined to comment.

The last to speak was President von der Leyen. Playing the role of the warhawk, von der Leyen wasted no time bringing attention to Russia’s Shadow Fleet for bypassing sanctions and Russia’s recent airspace violations. Insisting on discussing war reparations, von der Leyen pointed out that since Russia is the perpetrator of the conflict, they must be the ones to pay. If successful, the proposals for the Loan Reparations Scheme and Defense Omnibus will spell further harm to Russia. Von der Leyen also expressed her belief that Europe will not back down and can continue to economically punish Russia while keeping Ukraine self-sufficient and armed. When asked about how realistic it was to set 5-year defence goals for 2030, she replied, ‘Ukraine has also changed in 3 years alone’.

The Future

Frederiksen’s message is clear: Unity. In security and defense the EU must act as a unit in order to preserve integrity. We are all in this together. Regrettably, Frederiksen is not without her opponents. Many leaders in Eastern Europe have expressed that what they need is regional support with the Eastern Flank, rather than a rearmament of South Europe. Worse yet, Hungary’s Victor Orban has indicated that his country’s dependency on Russia is a serious tension point, where, as a sovereign state, they will oppose Ukraine’s admission to the EU on grounds of national interests.

On the EU level, big decisions on defense are being made as we speak. However, the Informal Meeting was only one step towards building the common European defense stance. It’s abundantly clear that Brussels sees that Ukraine must be kept inside Europe, and Russia outside. Yet there is much reconciliation needed: Countries in the ‘Eastern Flank’ see taking a strong Ukrainian stance as a tension point, and those countries in the West or ‘South’ see the conflict as further away from their national interests. To that end, the EU is building a financial engine for European Defense and aims to win over member states to create a united front. The coming days bring much anxiety, but also hope and strength.  

Stay tuned to follow where Denmark and Europe are headed. Keep following our updates on Last Week in Denmark, and you can also follow the EU newsroom website for updates.