Kristersson presented Sweden’s priorities to the parliament in Stockholm under four headings — security, resilience, prosperity, and democratic values and the rule of law — and struck an optimistic tone about what could be achieved.
Sweden’s fragmented domestic politics were on full display Wednesday
as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson presented his country’s priorities
for its looming presidency of the Council of the EU.
Sweden takes over the rotating presidency from the Czech Republic in
the New Year and will seek to nudge forward around 350 of the bloc’s
files in the six months to July 1 when it will hand over to Spain.
On Wednesday, Kristersson presented Sweden’s priorities to
the parliament in Stockholm under four headings — security, resilience,
prosperity, and democratic values and the rule of law — and struck an
optimistic tone about what could be achieved.
“The Swedish presidency will be an active one, and will offer
constructive leadership to deepen the EU’s
But for the country’s opposition parties listening in the chamber,
the launch of the presidency was further evidence that Sweden’s
government, a minority of three center-right parties with support from
the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), is on the wrong track.
Matilda Ernkrans, a lawmaker with the opposition Social
Democrats, said key policy areas including migration, violent crime and
the rule of law, had received far too little attention in the presidency
program.
“Migration isn’t mentioned at all, gang-related crime gets a one-word
mention, and the references to the rule of law look like they’ve been
squeezed in,” Ernkrans told POLITICO as she left the session.
Diluted ambitions
During the session, Ernkrans suggested the far-right, EU-skeptic SD,
which has consistently downplayed the seriousness of global warming, had
the final say over the Swedish presidency agenda and had diluted its
ambitions in central areas like climate policy.
Kristersson hit back, suggesting the Social Democrats were “obsessed”
with SD. He called for a greater focus on unity and less on domestic
squabbling.
“The government’s aim is to ensure the EU can agree so that we can
get things done, that is the job of the presidency,” he said. “We don’t
go into this with the aim of arguing in the Swedish parliament on
individual issues.”
The tetchiness could further feed concerns in
Brussels that the new Swedish government could struggle to show the
strength it will need to make progress on the demanding list of
priorities it has set itself for the first six months of 2023. ...
more at POLITICO
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