Tag: Sweden

Swedish support for the EU is declining and the support for the euro has never been lower, according to a report published Monday (6 May) by the University of Gothenburg.

Swedish agricultural authorities are recommending a tax to reduce meat consumption and say such a levy should be adopted across the European Union.

Droughts, poor land use and water access have all contributed to recent volatility in food prices and regional food emergencies. To address such insecurity in food supplies, good water management and governance – as well as reliable early warning systems – are needed, says Jens Berggren, who heads World Water Week that begins on 26 August in Stockholm.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's appointment of Sergei Makey as foreign minister represents a hardline stance concerning the Europeans and will likely worsen relations between Minsk and Brussels, says Stratfor.

Tensions between Belarus and the European Union are not new and follow a trend of increasing Belarussian alienation from the West. Although the dispute between Belarus and Sweden is the first these countries have had at such a high level, tensions are unlikely to grow since the West does not want to further isolate Belarus, argues Stratfor.

Ahead of yesterday's EU summit, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt criticised both the 'project bonds' and the 'Eurobonds' that were put forward as a way to relaunch the European economy.

The proposed EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) will push rent prices up and cause energy poverty that has not been seen in Sweden since modern times, warn Barbro Engman, Kurt Eliasson and Reinhold Lennebo.

One year after the establishment of Europe's first 'macro-region', which brings together 10 countries nested around the Baltic Sea, a number of positive results can already be seen, according to Johannes Hahn, the European commissioner in charge of regional policy.

As a way to encourage local and regional bodies to seek EU funding, the West Sweden region has developed an 'advice service' which helps them access funds that match their own long-term development goals. Its designers view the model as "solid and unique" and hope to see it replicated across the EU. 

The centre-right Swedish government unveiled legislation on 22 March to allow the construction of new nuclear reactors, in a bid to replace the ten ageing ones that still produce about 40% of the country's electricity.

Europe's health ministers will today (1 October) discuss the role of pricing and responsible marketing in tackling alcohol abuse, but early indications suggest Sweden may have somewhat tempered its ambitions.

Sweden's floating currency, the crown, is not viable in the long term, although a soft currency provides a stimulus in tough economic times, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a newspaper interview published on Monday.

"It's the Swedes' success in melding capitalism and social welfare and environmental responsibility that will serve it well over the next six months," writes Gerald Loftus, a former diplomat, in a July post on Blogactiv.

Amid growing unemployment and fears spreading that temporary schemes to keep people employed will be unsustainable in a prolonged recession, the Swedish EU Presidency is aiming to depart from old solutions in favour of labour market inclusion.

With ongoing financial and economic crises, global warming, institutional changes following the EU elections and uncertainty over the Lisbon Treaty, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said his country was ready for a bumpy ride as it prepares to take the helm of the European Union on 1 July.

As Swedish voters prepare to vote in EU elections on 7 June, opinion polls predict that the governing centre-right may outperform the centre-left for the first time in a generation, with a raft of smaller parties making up the difference. Meanwhile, campaigns have started to focus heavily on energy security and climate change.

A controversial decision by a Swedish court against online file-sharing site Pirate Bay last week has led to a surge in membership of a related political movement, the Pirate Party, turning it into Sweden's fourth largest political force ahead of the European elections in June.

The Euro-critical EU Democrats (EUD) could form a new European Parliament group with anti-Lisbon Treaty platform Libertas after the June elections, EUD President Sören Wibe told EurActiv in an interview.

Europe's Nordic states yesterday (26 February) debated in Iceland whether to keep their own currencies or seek shelter from the global crisis in the euro zone.

The Netherlands on Tuesday (8 July) became the 21st country to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, and the third to do so following the failed Irish referendum on 12 June.

Following France's example with the EuroMed proposal, Poland and Sweden are due to present an 'Eastern Initiative' at a meeting next week, in a move which diplomats warned could ruin the EU's patient efforts to craft a common external policy.

Welfare reforms and privatisations, but no new euro referendum, form the agenda of new Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of the centre-right coalition which ousted the Social Democrats.  

The 'June list', a newly formed Swedish eurosceptic party, said it will only run for European elections and will push for a referendum on the EU constitution.

Politicians across the 15 Member States are assessing the implications of Sweden's rejection to join the euro zone in a referendum on 14 September.