VOXPOT: The EU, with Sweden at the helm, is heading into uncharted waters. Green Europe and migration solutions on the horizon

January 17, 2023

At the turn of the year, Sweden took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from the Czech Republic and will be responsible for leading the Union for the next six months. Although the Swedes have a reputation for being solid and liberal-minded partners, there are concerns about the great unknown because of the composition of their current government. For the first time in history, it is supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats. Our Senior Research Fellow Vít Havelka wrote this article for VOXPOT.

"The potential danger of Sweden's right-wing populists lies primarily in the fact that they are disrupting the established order. The country has seen a succession of Social Democrats in power over the decades, with centre parties supporting a strong welfare state, liberal migration policies and open international trade."

"Europe continues to go through a fairly intense energy crisis, and although it will certainly get through this winter, the next one could be a problem if there are intense frosts and gas reservoirs are not fully replenished. The Czech presidency has done an excellent job in securing a consensus over short-term stabilisation of the situation, but it is now up to the Swedes to take things forward.

You can read the whole article here.

#EU #Sweden

Vít Havelka
Senior Research Fellow

Expertise: EU institutional relations with member states, europeisation, transformation role of EU

VOXPOT: The EU, with Sweden at the helm, is heading into uncharted waters. Green Europe and migration solutions on the horizon

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