Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to the signing of the joint declaration of intent between our partners.
On behalf of the Kingdom of Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, and on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Ah, I see, okay.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now conclude with the press conference. The Prime Minister and the Federal Chancellor will speak. Afterwards, we will have time for questions. Mr. Chancellor, please.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Dear Mr. Prime Minister, dear Ulf, we have already met several times — at the Nordic summit in Finland, at the European Councils, at the NATO summit — and today I am delighted to welcome you to Berlin for your inaugural visit. It is a great pleasure for me to be with you. Several representatives from Sweden, from politics and business, have traveled to Berlin, and it was a particular honor for me today to meet Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who came to Berlin with you and who gave a truly remarkable speech in the German Bundestag last year on the Day of Mourning.
We have decided today to further develop our innovation partnership. In doing so, we are placing cooperation in security and defense policy at the center. We are entering into new cooperations, among others in migration policy and in financial policy. We will also strengthen our cooperation in the fight against irregular migration and work more closely together in the area of capital markets.
Germany and Sweden are close partners, bilaterally and within the European Union. Since Sweden's accession to NATO, we are also partners in NATO — allies. This shows that Russia's attempts to divide Europe are not working. On the contrary, through Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, we Europeans are drawing closer together. I personally could not have imagined that Sweden and Finland would one day join NATO. The terrible war in Ukraine made it possible.
We will therefore also intensify our cooperation in the defense industry. To that end, our defense ministers signed an agreement yesterday. We are both convinced that the European Union can and must make a contribution in the defense industry. This also includes removing barriers in the internal market for defense goods. We want to work together on this in the European Council.
We have exchanged views — and this will not surprise you — on the situation in Ukraine. We Europeans can make the greatest difference if we reach an agreement in December on the use of Russian assets. This is our strongest lever to bring Moscow to the negotiating table and to end this terrible war in the long run. I would like to explicitly thank the Swedish government and the Swedish Prime Minister for supporting my proposal in the European Council. We both want to work to ensure that it is also supported by all other member states of the European Union.
Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure — recklessly and deliberately. Germany recently made a contribution to the Energy Support Fund of 60 million euros, bringing the total to 450 million euros, simply to support the energy supply in Ukraine over the winter. We are continuously reviewing where we can provide further support, where we can continue to help in Ukraine, especially in this winter of war that lies ahead of us.
We want to increase our financial support for the Ukrainian military by a further 3 billion euros in the coming year. We are doing all this not only to help Ukraine, but also in our own security interest. In return, we expect Ukraine to remain a reliable partner, and that also means a relentless approach against corruption. That is an absolute must in Ukraine. I have already told the President twice — once in person and once in a telephone conversation in recent days. All of this remains a prerequisite for further progress on the path to the European Union.
We briefly exchanged views on the Gaza conflict. The Federal Government welcomes the mandate of the United Nations Security Council to implement the 20-point plan for Gaza. What is important now is the disarmament of Hamas, the guarantee of security, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The Federal Government will make its own contributions in an appropriate manner. Our goal is a stable peace for Israelis and Palestinians in a Middle East in which Israel is no longer a foreign body, but a partner for its neighbors as well.
Ladies and gentlemen, strengthening European competitiveness remains our priority on the European Union's agenda. Only a economically strong European Union is able to assert itself as a geopolitical actor and defend its own interests and values. We therefore want to continue to push together for more flexible regulation that gives companies in the European Union more leeway — leeway for rapid and pragmatic implementation — and strengthens growth opportunities.
I do not want to leave unmentioned that we also discussed the multiannual financial framework. It must serve the competitiveness of European industry, and we will coordinate closely with each other on how we will conduct the negotiations on this multiannual financial framework next year. Last but not least, we discussed migration. For us, it is clear that irregular migration is a pan-European challenge. Germany has already done a lot to significantly reduce the number of asylum applications. We have succeeded in that, but it is not enough. That is why we will pursue this path together at the European level.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, those are, from our perspective, the most important points that we have discussed with each other. I want to say once again that I am very pleased that we met here in Berlin today. We work very closely and very cooperatively together in the European Union. Germany and the North have traditionally had a very good relationship, and Germany and Sweden are close partners in many respects. There are actually no problems between our two countries. On the contrary, we have common projects in the European Union, and we have discussed them intensively. And that is why, dear Ulf, thank you once again very warmly for your really close partnership with Germany, and for our personal close cooperation. I am very pleased that we are succeeding in this and that we are also advancing it further in the European Union.
Thank you so much, Chancellor. Thank you very much for hosting us here in Berlin today. I also had the privilege of giving a brief speech at the Berlin Security Conference this morning. I'm really happy to be back in Berlin. For Sweden, Germany is really a very strong partner and a very reliable friend in so many different ways. Nowadays also an excellent ally, not least in the Baltic Sea region, of course, and in all the support for Ukraine.
We have a very solid common base with close economic and industrial, political and cultural ties. Germany — everybody knows that — is Sweden's largest trading partner and largest foreign employer in Sweden, with some 98,000 Swedes working in successful German companies.
The first time we actually met here in Berlin was the day after the German general election. I was on my way from Rome, and I called Friedrich and said, 'If you think this good election result will lead you to form the next German government, I'll make a stop in Berlin on my way home, if you don't mind.' And you answered, 'Welcome.' And today we meet in times of deep concern for European security, with Russia's war raging against Ukraine. It is obvious that we, as countries, are friends and, even more importantly, allies.
Sweden and Germany, as everybody here knows, have a long-standing friendship based on geography, values, history, and shared policy priorities of today. We really look forward to engaging further in this close cooperation — in security, prosperity, foreign and security policy, obviously, capital markets, international development cooperation, and, as you mentioned, migration.
In already existing areas of the partnership, such as defense, space, and the defense industry, Sweden and Germany have decided to deepen cooperation. The defense industry is of increasing importance, and we have strong defense companies. In the European Union, in NATO, and around the Baltic Sea, I would like to thank the Federal Government for Germany's steadfast, very solid, and dedicated support for Ukraine. That support — be it military, humanitarian, economic, or political — needs to increase if we are to stop the ongoing Russian aggression.
Few countries know as well as ours that more partners now need to step up their support as well. And finally, I would like to express my appreciation for your very hands-on leadership style. We both lead our own countries through difficult times, but both of us, in the details — economic, financial, geopolitical, industrial — we tend to unite on the same page. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Lina Lund from the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Mr. Chancellor, as opposition leader you repeatedly demanded that Germany deliver Taurus to Ukraine. Taurus is a Swedish-German project. So far, you have not done so. Could you please explain this to my Swedish readers?
We have been working intensively in recent months with the Ukrainian government on implementing projects for long-range fire, as we technically call it. The Ukrainian army is being equipped with such weapons systems. We have agreed that we will no longer discuss details publicly, because we also believe that there must be a certain degree of uncertainty toward the Russian side regarding the extent to which we are providing military support here. I can only say this much: we are doing everything we can to equip the Ukrainian army with weapons systems that have a corresponding range. And this will increase in the coming weeks and months, if necessary, up to the production of such weapons systems in Ukraine itself.
Basically the same question for me, sorry. I mean, obviously, I think two things are worth mentioning. First thing: every country needs to make their own decisions on what to deploy, what contributions to be made in terms of money, and of course in terms of equipment. And we expect other countries to respect our decisions, and in a general sense, you can always — Ukraine can honestly make use of more or less everything, and they are not shy in their demands for help, for very good reason. So I fully understand that they always ask us for delivering even more.
Hans von Albert from Politico. Mr. Chancellor, from long-range fire to air defense for Ukraine — you just mentioned the additional 3 billion. Last night there was again a terrible attack in western Ukraine. Do you see short-term possibilities to further strengthen air defense effectively? And there are also reports now of a 28-point peace plan from the Americans, with very concrete talks, to which the Russian side, as we read, is showing itself open. Are you already informed about this? How do you assess it? To what extent was this also discussed last night at the dinner with the E3?
Swedish Prime Minister on more support for Ukraine in the air defense sector. Discussion on how to move forward with the German-French-Spanish FCAS fighter project, and also a question: do you see a possibility for Saab and Airbus to work together? Thank you. You first.
Well, I understood your question. Two parts. One is deploying even more air defense to Ukraine. So far, with respect for increasing everything — no doubt about that. We decided, as part of the informally known as the F-16 group, that the best contribution Sweden could do at that time, and is ongoing right now, was actually to deploy air surveillance aircraft that are very compatible with the F-16 capacity of those fighter jets. And then, as everybody knows, we also discussed the long-term possibilities of cooperating on the Gripen fighter system.
Your second question was on Airbus. Well, basically we always promote every kind of cooperation, and have done so for a long time. You know, basically the Swedish lesson learned is that a pretty small country with big corporations always needs to cooperate with other countries. Normally we don't make recommendations on different companies. The Swedish companies engage, and they have their own decision-making capacity.
