BRUSSELS — Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is looking forward to meeting his fellow leaders at a castle in the Belgian countryside on Thursday but not even these relaxed surroundings can quell the EU’s simmering divisions.

The chief agitator this time is French President Emmanuel Macron, who is pushing for a new “Buy European” drive — which would seek to favor the EU’s own companies in areas of strategic importance such as defense, steel and electric vehicles. Macron has triggered concern among some of his counterparts, including Kristersson, who leads a proudly free-trading nation and is deeply suspicious of states intervening in markets. 

“Well, him and I, we quite often friendly-argue with each other on these matters,” Kristersson said of his relations with Macron, during an interview with POLITICO. “I don’t always agree with the methods.”

The European Commission is expected soon to unveil proposals for how a “European preference” could operate to help boost the bloc’s production in strategic industries. Macron appeared increasingly isolated this week, with Germany knocking back his proposal for more joint EU debt to fund strategic investments, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warning of “a fine line to walk” on the concept of a “European preference.”

Even so, the crisis in transatlantic relations — inflamed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on allies in his quest to acquire Greenland — has made it more urgent for EU leaders to strengthen the bloc’s economic might, Kristersson said. 

Macron has a point that Europe must be more “self-reliant,” Kristersson said, but trying to protect European supply chains and businesses from international competition will not necessarily help the competitiveness of the EU economy. 

“I think European preference, if that means having [such] extremely good companies, products, services in Europe that they are unavoidable for the rest of the world, then I’m very much in favor of it,” Kristersson said. “If it means protecting European companies, for European purchase or European procurement, which makes them avoid competition from other parts of the world, I am not at all sure that’s a good idea.”

He called for European leaders to improve the conditions for companies to thrive: better infrastructure, education, research and new trade agreements with countries outside the bloc. 

Kristersson gave the example of audio streaming platform Spotify, which is headquartered in Stockholm, as a rare European success in an otherwise sparse landscape for tech giants. Spotify, he said, is Europe’s “one big tech company” right now. “Otherwise most of the companies have turned to the U.S.” 

A more open approach to promoting European businesses should embrace British and Norwegian firms, he said, arguing that exposing companies to competition from Korea or China or the U.S. actually helps make them more competitive. 

“There is always a risk of protecting companies that basically are not that competitive as their competitors would be, or a race for closeness,” he said “I mean, if the world goes in a direction where we try to trade only with neighbors, I think that would be a bad idea.” 

Kristersson said he hoped the EU’s 27 leaders would use the current “crisis” in relations with the U.S. to inject “a sense of urgency” into the discussion and agree to concrete action on improving the bloc’s capacity to defend itself and boost its businesses. 

“There is always, obviously, the risk of the opposite,” he said. “Every crisis consumes all the oxygen in the room, so that sometimes we are better on crisis management than on systemic, long-term reform.”