Pressemøde den 3. juli 2025

Følgende er en transskription af pressemøde den 3. juli 2025 med Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen i forbindelse med Danmarks EU-formandskab

Statsminister Mette Frederiksen: Thank you and dear Ursula, welcome to Denmark and a warm welcome to the city of Aarhus. Today marks the beginning of the Danish EU presidency. The task ahead of us is crystal clear. We have to steer Europe safely through one of the most challenging times in our history. Russia has brought war back to our continent. The situation in the Middle East has escalated to a new level and we are facing the consequences of migration, climate change and global competition. To all of these challenges, I believe that there is one answer. A stronger Europe. And that is the guiding objective for our presidency. Let me highlight three elements from the many topics we have discussed today.

First of all, we must pave the way for a much stronger European defense. If we are not willing to stand up for our continent, then who are we as Europeans? We need to rearm Europe by no later than 2030. And I look forward to the roadmap on how to achieve this objective. So that we can develop common capabilities, scale up our defense industry, procure together and break down any barriers and obstacles in our way. We have to make the decision today that will ensure our security in the future.

Secondly, we have to boost our support to Ukraine. Right now, Ukraine is fighting for all of us. I see no sign that Putin wants peace. And I do not trust for a second that Putin intends to stop with Ukraine. Therefore, we have to put Ukraine in the best possible position. The European Union needs to further weaken the Russian economy. We have to increase sanctions, stop import of Russian gas and target Russia's shadow fleet. Ukraine is a part of our European family and it has been very important for us that President Zelenskyj has been able to join us here today in Aarhus. Our European family would not be complete without his presence.

Third, security is also about migration. But the current asylum system is broken. Right now, cynical smugglers have the power to decide who can enter Europe and who cannot. And meanwhile, we see the consequences of uncontrolled migration in our societies. We need, of course, to be in control of our own borders. Who can enter and stay in our countries, that needs to be a democratic decision. And I will be very frank, people from coming outside who commit serious crimes and do not respect our value and way of life, I don't think they have a place in Europe. And they should be expelled. So, we need new solutions that will lower the influx of migrants to Europe. I value our close cooperation with the Commission on these issues. And we now have concrete proposals on the table, proposals that could also pave the way for return hubs and asylum proceedings outside the EU. That is an important step in the right direction.

Dear Ursula, with the uncertainty in the world, and for many people also uncertainty in daily life, we need to create a stronger and more safe Europe for our citizens. 75 years ago, the idea of the Coal and Steel Union was presented, and less than a year from the idea until it became reality, less than a year. So much can be done if we make the right decisions in time. I am still an optimist. And in a changing world, we need a stronger Europe.

Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen: Thank you very much, dear Mette. Thank you for your warm welcome. It's my first time here in Aarhus. And it's the first time that I saw the Aros Museum. Thank you very much. I've been very much looking forward to get to know the city of smiles. And it's extraordinary. So, thank you very much for bringing us here to start your presidency. I've always admired Denmark's fast and focused approach. You know how to get things done. And that's exactly the kind of spirit that we need right now. Let me focus on five topics.

The first is defense. Indeed, Denmark knows what it means to stay alert. You're faced with Baltic tensions and Arctic competition. You've steadily ramped up your capabilities. And therefore, it is no coincidence that I presented our readiness 2030 strategy at the Royal Danish Military Academy in March. Now, I count on you to help deliver it. We have already started working on the roadmap for readiness for the European Council. That's the task for the European Council in October. It is about how we invest. And for this, we will identify the capability gaps and work with member states on common European projects for joint procurement. Because defense readiness is not just about how much we spend, but it's a lot about how we spend the money. On defense, the Danish presidency will play a crucial role. Here we will ensure the implementation of SAFE. You know that is our 150 billion joint procurement investment program. Going forward, this means that member states should provide an estimate of their needs by the end of the month. And this is necessary to unlock loans. We will then need to receive industry investment plans. During your presidency, we also aim at finalizing the participation of close allies to SAFE. That starts with the UK, for example, and Canada. This is so important for us because with that, we get the strategic depth we need. Beyond SAFE, I also count on you to advance another major initiative, and this is our defense readiness omnibus, to lift barriers and build an EU-wide market for defense. My second point, competitiveness. It is a key priority for Denmark and for Europe. Nine months have passed since Mario Draghi has presented his report. A lot has been put in motion since then. Just briefly and not comprehensive, the competitiveness compass, the clean industrial deal, five omnibuses, the sixth one is going on the road next week. The AI gigafactories, quantum strategy, startup and scale-up strategy, the new state aid framework I just mentioned, SAFE. And here again, Denmark's result-oriented mindset will ensure that we continue delivering on this agenda. We know that entrepreneurs struggle to access the risk capital they need, so we need a major push on our European savings and investment union, and this will be one of our shared priorities.

The second stumblestone we have in our competitiveness is that we have to drive down destruction to high energy costs, so we will present plans to upgrade Europe's grid for storage capacity and interconnections. As you know, these are critical enablers of a successful clean transition, because we produce a lot of energy, but it's difficult at the moment being either to store it properly or to send it where it is needed, and we will work with your presidency to include the 2040 climate targets into European law. We presented them yesterday together with the enabling components. These 2040 climate targets will provide the predictability for business that they need to invest, and it will pave the way to climate neutrality by 2050. So, we stay the course on our goals, but important for us is to be on our way, flexible, adaptable, and very pragmatic. So, we count on the Danish presidency to progress our single market strategy, drive forward our simplification agenda. In our discussion, one commissioner said we sent one omnibus per month on the road this year, so we hope that we can have one omnibus per month getting to its destination so that the business sector really sees this is making a difference.

That covers our European homework, equally important our global trade partnership, and this is my third point. As you know, the negotiations with the United States are ongoing as we speak. Commissioner Sefcovic is in Washington today. I just want to say we are ready for a deal. We want a negotiated solution, but you all know that at the same time we're preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached. This is why we consulted on a rebalancing list, and we will defend the European interest as needed. In other words, all the instruments are on the table. We are moving forward with our partners, so we want to see results during this presidency on our agreements with Mercosur, Mexico. Hopefully we have them by the end of the year. India. In today's economic landscape, Europe carries an important responsibility. Our responsibility is to champion a free and open and a fair trading system. Therefore, we fully support the reform progress of WTO, and in parallel we pursue a structured cooperation with the CPTPP - these are the Pacific countries behind this abbreviation - to tap into the vast potential that is there of a rules-based trade. 

Fourth point is migration. We have a pact for asylum and migration, and that's good. Now we have to implement it, and we know that we need more to face the challenges we have. That's why we have worked on the operational side. So, on one side is the legal part, the pact for migration, asylum has to be implemented, but then we have the operational side. Under your presidency, we can make progress on our return proposal on safe third countries concept and the safe countries of origin. And my fifth point, indeed certainly not last but not least, is Ukraine. I'm very glad that later today we'll have the meeting with President Zelenskyj. You said rightly so we have to put pressure on Putin, that he comes to the negotiation table, therefore the 18th package of sanctions, one of the first deliverables in the Danish presidency. And yes, achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine remains the key priority, because Ukrainians are fighting not just for their sovereignty, but also for us, for our freedom, for our values. And we know that we can never match their sacrifices, but what we can do is stand united, determined, and resolute by Ukraine, not just for as long as it takes to secure peace, but to give them the chance, the opportunity to have the country they are dreaming of. And that is a country that masters its own destiny, its own future, a country that is a member of the European Union. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Moderator: Thank you, Madam President. We will now go to questions. The first from the Associated Press, please.

Journalist: Thank you. My name is Lorne Cook. I work for the Associated Press in Brussels. You're both very strong supporters of Ukraine. We have President Zelenskyj here today. What we see is the United States stepping back. The Trump administration hasn't made any new pledges to Ukraine. It's even cutting back on weapons now. Not only that, there's been talk about sanctions, but nothing but talk. So how damaging is that, when you lose that partnership? And what can you do now? What is a strong Europe going to do now? You've got frozen assets, and you buy U.S. weapons with European money. What do you have?

Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen: For us, it's a clear signal or clear message to step up our own support, so ramping up our defense capacities, not only at the level of the European Union, but at a continental level. And as you know, we have already provided around about 50 billion euros of support in the military part, military equipment. Denmark has shown with its significant deliveries as of the start of the war how to do it, from a much needed artillery to F-16s, for example. I, from my part, can only recommend to use now SAFE. Here are 150 billion euros. The member states can take this money and either buy military equipment and give it to Ukraine, or they can take this money and invest it in the extremely efficient Ukrainian defense industry. President Zelenskyj told us that this defense industry, which is highly efficient, has a capacity where only 60% are being used, so there's room for more 40% of capacity to finance by our member states, for example, and SAFE is the instrument that is there. We agreed on it in 71 days. I think this also shows the sense of urgency that is necessary.

Statsminister Mette Frederiksen: I totally agree with Ursula, but of course, if U.S. decides not to provide Ukraine with what is needed, it would be a serious setback for Ukraine and for Europe and for NATO, because as I guess both of us have said already, the war in Ukraine has never only been about Ukraine. This is a war about the future of Europe, and therefore, of course, we will look into the decisions made in Washington. We hope that the partnership, Transatlantic, also when it comes to Ukraine, will stay on. It's important for all of us. If there will be any gaps, I think we have to fill them up. And as Ursula just said, we have made this model a year ago, a bit more than a year ago now, to support production directly inside Ukraine. It's working very well. They are producing faster, better, and cheaper than the rest of us. But I have to underline that they still have capacity. So, we need also other European countries to finance more production inside Ukraine. At the same time, we are looking into, I mean, pulling production out of Ukraine to ensure that we can support Ukrainian production in other European countries like here in Denmark. Secondly, sanctions, of course, on Russia is crucial. The enlargement process, it is extremely important. I am totally in favor of Ukraine being a member of NATO. Unfortunately, not all allies are supporting it. And therefore, it's even more important to ensure that they will be as they should be a member of the European Union. That is something we will, of course, engage in during our presidency. And then finally, you cannot win a war without the needed weapons and air defense systems on the battlefield and in the entire society. So, there are a lot of ifs at the moment. There are a lot of talks about ceasefire and peace agreement. Until now, Ukraine has been willing to do everything. Russia, totally the opposite. Meanwhile, us as Europeans, we have to deliver what is needed on the battlefield.

Moderator: Thank you. We will go to the Danish Broadcasting Company. Danmarks Radio.

Journalist: Thank you. Ole Ryborg from Danmarks Radio. A question for Vice President von der Leyen. You have to deliver a roadmap on rearming Europe by October. We now see, to follow up on Lorne question, that the Americans is not delivering the weapons necessary or promised to a war in Europe. Does that change the whole way that you look at the roadmap, not just to rearm Europe, but also that we have to ramp up European weapons production to deliver weapons to Ukraine in the future? And for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, again, the Americans restraining deliveries on weapons to Ukraine have re-entered the era where we in Europe need to make sure that we produce all arms and all military equipment ourselves because we can no longer rely fully on deliveries from the U.S.

Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen: So, the roadmap where we have been tasked to deliver it for the European Council in October, the main purpose is that we have a structured, comprehensive approach to how delivering the surge of defense investment and spending. And the first thing that we do is we look at the capability gaps that we have mapped in the European Union. But of course, I will do this in close cooperation also with the capability gaps mapping of NATO. So, we should put our notes next to each other, compare notes, and make sure that we have a clear oversight what is needed now. Then the roadmap has the emphasis to be most of all joint procurement. For that, we, the Commission, have enabled the member states to have the financial flexibility, you know, the National Escape Clause, and the SAFE instrument. And specifically, the SAFE instrument is for joint procurement. So, to match the analysis on the gaps that we have in capabilities, to make sure that we have a common approach also what norms and standards are concerned with NATO - for me, it's very important that we are just very, very much aligned - and to look at the big European projects that should be financed in a joint effort. For example, an air defense shield, or for example, a defense cloud, the whole cyber topic. All these are topics where no member state alone is able to manage it, but together, of course, we are able to do that. And now we have the finances, and the roadmap should describe how we get to this goal.

Statsminister Mette Frederiksen: Thank you for that question as well. I think we have to change our mindset. So instead of thinking about, you know, when we are delivering weapons to Ukraine, instead of thinking it as donations, we have to think of it as a part of re-arming ourselves. Because right now, it is the army in Ukraine that is protecting Europe. So, I don't see it as - I mean, I see it totally as interlinked. So, bringing weapons or any other systems to Ukraine is a part of defending Europe and in Denmark. Secondly, we really have to ramp up production lines in Europe. Not because of what is going on in the US, but because we have to be able to protect ourselves. And you can only protect yourself if you have an industry that is capable of delivering what is needed. And the showcase of all this is actually right now in Ukraine. One of the reasons why they have the success they still have on the battlefield is because of some of the production lines inside Ukraine. So, we have to ramp up. I still believe that the Transatlantic Alliance will be there also in the future. But no matter what will happen in the US at the European level, we have to take the decision. So, we have re-armed ourselves, asking me at the latest by 2030, and a part of that is ramping up our own production capacity.

Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen: Can I add a point? Because it's so important what you just said, Mette. And this complements with the fact that we have to work with our European defense industry. We have the strategic dialogue with the defense industry. And out of this strategic dialogue is an action plan and an omnibus that has to be done. So, to enable also our European industry to be fit for the purpose. It's a huge task. It's a huge transformation. But this approach combined is important.

Journalist: On trade, it seems that based on Commissioner Stefcovic remarks and certain anonymous sources that the EU wants to first strike political agreements with the Trump administration before the July 9th deadline and then hash out more specific details later. Is that what we should expect and by when?

Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen: Yeah. As always in negotiations, you never know when they are successfully concluded. We are aiming at the 9th of July. It's a huge task because we have the largest trade volume globally between the European Union and the United States, 1.5 trillion euros, very complex and a huge quantity. And indeed, what we are aiming at is an agreement in principle. Because in such a volume, in 90 days, an agreement in detail, impossible. An agreement in principle. That is also what the UK did. And as far as I'm informed, there are only two countries so far worldwide that have concluded with an agreement in principle.

Moderator: Thank you. TV2, and we have very short time, so please be quick.

Journalist: Hi, Lisa Heselund from TV2 Denmark. I would like to ask you both a question for you, Ms. von der Leyen. I would like to ask you, we see both Denmark and the EU being under growing pressure from the US, from the US government on trade, on defense, geopolitically on Greenland. So, I would like to ask you, how are you going to assert your interest, the European interest, when Washington, US government also sees the Arctic as a point for their very important sphere of influence? And also, in the light of them not being afraid of putting pressure on Denmark and on the EU? And for you, Mette Frederiksen, I would like to ask you, you're both standing here, both of you as very strong proponents, supporters of Ukraine. But what are you concretely going to do to push through with the agenda on Ukraine membership, when you know very well that not all EU countries are on the same line and every country can put down a veto during this whole process? So, what are you completely going to do to, well, make sure that this is not going to end up as an empty pledge?

Europa-Kommissionsformand Ursula von der Leyen: So, of course, the Arctic is of growing importance, always had an importance, but with climate change and all of the sudden waterways that are accessible, it has a completely new, increased importance. Not to speak of the critical raw materials there, not to speak about the fishing opportunities that are there. So yes, it is absolutely time to focus more on the Arctic. I think what is necessary that we as Europeans develop an Arctic strategy, so comprehensive approach on how we look at the region. And we would not have, we could not have a better advisor than Denmark, because this is basically your neighborhood. And therefore, this is one of the regions of crucial importance.

Statsminister Mette Frederiksen: Well, can I just finalize with some words on the question about enlargement, because you're totally right that the majority of the member states in the European Union are on the same page when it comes to enlargement and Ukraine. But there are some challenges in front of us in finding the concrete steps forward. That's some of the things we are going to discuss today. We had discussion about it last week in the European Council, so I don't have any concrete things for you today, but it's something we are working on. I would like to say that, for me, it is extremely impressive that a country in a war is able not only to produce better and faster and cheaper than the rest of us when we're talking about, for example, drones, but also on the path to a membership of the European Union, they're able to make reforms and concrete steps forward, even though they are at war. So, I think they are doing their part. There are still a lot of decisions that have to be made before a real membership, but they are really doing a lot of their own homework. Now it's time for Europe to do the same. And then, finally, I just wanted to thank you, Ursula, and other good, strong European colleagues for the broad support that we have had in the question about Greenland. So, I think for many people in Greenland, but in the entire Kingdom of Denmark, it feels safe when you really can feel that the rest of Europe stands together with you in this strange and difficult situation.

Moderator: Thank you. That will conclude the press conference.