This is the third Swedish presidency of the European Union since its accession to the EU in 1995. After 2001 and 2009, Stockholm has again recovered since Sunday January 1 the rotating presidency of the EU for six months.
Beyond economic competitiveness, this country, which is not part of the euro zone, has several stated priorities: maintaining the unity of the Twenty-Seven on Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, while Sweden – as well as Finland – has submitted its application to join NATO, the climate and the defense of “fundamental values”, in particular in response to the controversial measures taken by Hungary and Poland.
Formed in mid-October 2022, the new Swedish government will first have to, at the start of this rotating presidency, overcome questions about the impact of its unprecedented alliance with the nationalist Democrats of Sweden (SD), the big winners of the legislative elections in September 2022. After eight years on the left in power, Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson leads a coalition made up of his Moderates party and his traditional allies, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. But the government is based on a parliamentary majority that also includes the SDs. If the latter no longer mentions leaving the EU in its program, friction seems inevitable, in particular on the sensitive file of immigration.
Ministers’ lack of European experience
“There are a lot of nice words when you read the prime minister’s article on the priorities of the Swedish EU presidency. But the concern is great when, in practice, it is the SD who hold the baton”, says Helene Fritzon, MEP for the Social Democrats, now the leading left-wing opposition party.
The governmental agreement of Tidö – the castle where it was negotiated – between the four formations of the majority provides that the SD are informed of all the decisions taken by the executive concerning the European Union. “But in general, EU subjects are excluded from this agreement”, tempers Göran von Sydow, director of the Swedish Institute for European Studies (Sieps). According to him, the fact that “most ministers and their close collaborators have very little experience of European meetings” is however a source of concern.
Nevertheless, as noted The echoes, Sweden’s permanent representation in Brussels is headed by a seasoned diplomat, Lars Danielsson. The latter has already coordinated the rotating presidency of 2001 from the State Secretariat for European Affairs and knows Germany well, where he was ambassador from 2015 to 2016, during the migration crisis.
While some are taking the opportunity to put their country in the spotlight on the continent, Sweden has opted for a form of restraint. Unlike the last two presidencies, French and Czech, marked by summits of heads of state in Versailles and Prague, no high mass is planned in the Nordic country. As for the ministerial meetings, they will take place in a modest conference center near Stockholm’s main airport.
A “fairly distant” relationship with Europe
On the merits, Sweden, which wishes to relaunch negotiations for international trade agreements with several countries and regions, could come up against an unfavorable timetable and the Franco-German couple, which seems to be regaining color in its quest for an answer. common in Washington.
The Swedish presidency coincides with the entry into force in the United States of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This 420 billion dollar plan, largely devoted to the climate, also takes on a protectionist character vigorously denounced by Emmanuel Macron during a recent trip to Washington. With exceptional aid reserved for firms established across the Atlantic, it will lead to “distortions of competition at the expense of EU companies” according to Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market.
“The Swedish presidency will undoubtedly be at odds with the Franco-German steps which are being prepared” in response to the American plan, predicts Sébastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute. “Stockholm will have to manage the tensions between the Twenty-Seven on the degree of response and aggressiveness” of the EU against the American plan, he adds. He also stresses that the Franco-German Council of Ministers, scheduled for January 22 in Paris, could send a strong signal on this issue. In addition, an extraordinary European Council will be held on February 9 and 10 in Brussels on two crucial subjects: the competitiveness of industry and immigration. For Stockholm, this will be an opportunity to seize the pact on migration and asylum proposed by the European Commission in September 2020.
Although the political line of the Swedish parties remains rather pro-European, Europe has aroused limited enthusiasm in the Nordic country in recent years. Two decades after the “No” vote in the referendum on joining the euro in 2003, polls estimate that two out of three Swedes reject the single currency.
Sweden “keeps a fairly distant relationship with Europe”, observes Sébastien Maillard. The director of the Jacques Delors Institute predicts a rotating presidency which “will fulfill its duty” but “will not be zealous” and “will not have a leading role”.
As reminded The echoes, the first major meeting will be an EU-Ukraine summit on 3 February. For the Swedish presidency, it will therefore be a question of preserving the unity of the Twenty-Seven while the development of the ninth package of sanctions against Russia and the vote for aid to kyiv for 2023 took time at the end of the year 2022, parasitized by other unrelated files.