The EU’s artificial intelligence rules should be paused, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday ahead of a meeting with EU leaders this week in Brussels.

While officials in countries including the Czech Republic and Poland have shown openness to the idea of delaying the rules, it’s the first time that a government leader has weighed in.

Kristersson slammed the EU’s AI rules as “confusing” during a meeting with Swedish parliament lawmakers on Monday morning and said he would raise this with fellow leaders this week.

“An example of confusing EU regulations is the fact that the so-called AI Act is to come into force without there being common standards,” Kristersson said.

Continuing the roll-out could lead to Europe falling behind technologically or specific applications not being available on the European market, he said, adding that he would “point that out” at the European Council meeting.

The idea of pausing the rollout of the EU’s AI Act has gained traction in Brussels. The European Commission’s tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, has said a pause is possible if the necessary guidance is not ready.

The AI Act became law last year but is being rolled out gradually over the next year and a half, and it relies on technical standards for companies to comply with requirements related to aspects such as cybersecurity and human oversight.

Swedish European Parliament conservative lawmaker Arba Kokalari — who sits within the European People’s Party — applauded Kristersson’s move in a reaction statement. Lawmakers have until now remained skeptical about halting the carefully negotiated rulebook.

“If standards are not ready in time, we should stop the clock for certain parts of the AI Act and give companies more time,” she said in a statement shared with POLITICO.

Kokalari also pushed for the AI Act to be included in the Commission’s digital simplification package, which is expected by the end of this year.