“Sweden and Luxembourg are natural partners and allies”: Financial mission of Yuriko Backes in Stockholm
In his opening speech, the Minister of Finance underlined the important role of the European Capital Markets Union and financial centers in making the European Union more competitive and closing the investment gap with the United States and Asia which has deepened since the last financial crisis. Yuriko Backes said: “A strong and competitive European economy is not only a prerequisite for realizing our ambition of net zero emissions, but also for supporting the inevitable reconstruction of a war-torn Ukraine.”
The geopolitical and economic impact of the war in Ukraine was moreover one of the subjects that the Minister of Finance raised with Mikael Damberg, Swedish Minister of Finance, the day after the official submission of Sweden’s candidacy for NATO. Ministers also discussed regular relations and their respective priorities at the Ecofin Council. Yuriko Backes commented: “As innovative and open economies and among the leading green financial centers in the world, Sweden and Luxembourg are natural partners and allies.”
The Minister also met the Minister for Financial Markets, Max Elger, for an exchange on the main projects in terms of financial regulation within the European Union, as well as on financial sanctions and the risks of cyberattacks in the context of the war. in Ukraine.
With the latter, Yuriko Backes also took stock of the collaboration in the financial field and they examined the possibilities of strengthening it further.
Sweden is an important market for the Luxembourg financial centre. More than half of the international funds distributed in Sweden are Luxembourg funds. It represents the fifth market in terms of collection of insurance premiums for the Luxembourg life insurance sector. Several Swedish and even pan-Nordic banks and asset managers have established competence centers as well as their main investment fund platforms in Luxembourg.
Yuriko Backes held discussions with decision makers from major banks and asset managers in Stockholm. The discussions focused on the strategic priorities in Europe and Luxembourg of these actors, and more particularly their views on the financing of the climate transition, the Swedish financial sector being a pioneer in sustainable investment.
Communicated by the Ministry of Finance