Global conversation: What plans does Sweden have when it takes over the EU presidency in January?
From January 2023, Sweden takes over the presidency of the European Union. The last time that happened was in 2009, and much has changed in the dynamics of the European Union and in the world since then.
Euronews spoke to Sweden’s Europe Minister Jessica Roswall to discuss the proposals for the next six months.
Support to Ukraine
Many problems have befallen the European Union in recent years, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine created a complex web of problems. What will be your attitude during the presidency, any concrete steps and actions that you can take regarding this?
“For the Swedish presidency, it will be a priority to maintain unity and to continue supporting Ukraine with all possible measures,” Roswall said. “Concretely, it is economic, military, humanitarian and also political help to deal with this difficult time. In addition, of course, we have to keep up with the sanctions and so on against Russia.”
Will the European Union be able to have the resources for the military (support) and for financial assistance in the reconstruction as soon as possible?
“I think we have to (because) the Ukrainians are not only fighting for their freedom, they are also fighting for our freedom.”
NATO
Security and unity. You mentioned that these are important topics for the Swedish presidency and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has mentioned them several times. When do you foresee Sweden, like Finland, joining NATO, especially given Turkey’s obstacles to it?
“I don’t have an answer to that, but as soon as possible is our hope. Of course, we do this in close cooperation with Finland because this is a security issue for both of us. But I think that the war in Ukraine has also symbolized, or shown, that the security of Europe depends on us sticking together and that we must maintain unity in Europe.”
To sanction Russia
_EU now sanctions Russia. It has another package in progress. How far should you go with this strategy, given the EU’s own interests and objectives in supporting Ukraine?
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“Well, on Russia, I think the EU has shown really good unity by putting forward all these sanctions packages. And now we’re discussing the ninth package. I think it’s important to get it in place and move forward as long as it takes . We have to move forward in terms of sanctions and other pressures that we can do. And we also see high inflation. We have many crises in parallel, in the EU and in the world. But we have to keep the support for Ukraine and also keep up the pressure on Russia .”
Energy crisis
_What is the price that EU citizens are willing to pay, given that there are so many economic problems that are mentioned many times via strikes and demonstrations?
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“All our governments in all member states are struggling to help their households and also businesses to cope with this winter and also to be prepared for next winter. It will of course be of great importance for the Swedish presidency to deal with all these issues. And so I think we have to do a lot of things, both when it comes to national arrangements. It has to be at the national level, not just at the EU level.”
So there is all this discussion about price caps, about joint procurement. What do you think is the easiest way to build consensus in terms of having access to affordable energy? I know, for example, that you are also very keen on nuclear power, but it is not the same in all EU countries.
– Well, for me, energy is something very closely connected to the green transition, which is another priority for Sweden. I think we need to talk about energy together with the green transition, but also remember that energy is also linked to security. So we have these two legs to stand on when it comes to energy.”
Green business
_The green business is the motivation to support a sustainable future. But in the current crisis, how ambitious can the European Union be? Will it be able to compete with massive investments in energy transition, as the US or China are doing?
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“So, the EU puts a lot of money and effort into the green transition and I think our industries are very good and at the forefront. I see that a lot in Sweden, and we can combine both green transitions with competitiveness and innovation. But we also have many different measures within the EU: we have the Recovery Fund, we have RepowerEU, which can actually help both people and businesses to make this transition.”
Border controls
Your coalition government is supported by a far-right party which, as in many other countries, defends a kind of “Fortress Europe” model. What are your proposals in terms of border management and also handling cases of people who want to enter the EU, with respect for human rights?
– I think that most parties in Sweden think that we must have the (EU) migration asylum pact in place. So for the Swedish presidency, it is important to move the negotiations forward. This is a tough negotiation because there are many member states who feel differently about this. So this will be a difficult (topic) to negotiate. But we have to and our ambition is to move forward in many of the different (legislative) acts that are combined in the migration pact.”
The rule of law
_Despite the new compromise this week, Hungary still has some EU funds frozen until the country implements some legal and anti-corruption reforms. Will this be a good strategy in getting these two countries, and perhaps others, to come to the liberal democratic style of government?
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“For me, the EU’s values and the rule of law are of (high) importance. It is basic values that we need. That is why we are a union that people in other countries want to join because we have these values. So we have to defend them every day. During the Swedish presidency, and every presidency, we must defend them. We have different tools in the toolbox. And now we see that one of them, the conditional mechanism, was actually put into effect. And that is a very good sign. I think that’s the strategy going forward, we should continue to use the different tools in the toolbox.”
_So you think the European Commission is doing a good job of using this mechanism as a central tool to get the rule of law respected within the Union’s borders?
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“Yeah exactly. I think we can see that we can actually use these different tools that we have.”
_My last question before I finish. What do you think about the corruption scandal involving the European Parliament? Is this an isolated case or perhaps the tip of the iceberg in relation to other institutions found in the European Union?
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“I can’t answer that. I think it’s a serious accusation, but we have to see the investigations (conclusions). But we always have to discuss corruption and how we can work against corruption.”
To see the full interview click on the player icon above.