Sweden takes over the EU Council Presidency: a warm welcome in the freezing cold of Kiruna

Ukraine war, energy crisis and the consequences of a pandemic: Sweden is taking over the EU Council Presidency in turbulent times. There is also domestic movement in the country. Despite all the problems, a warm welcome is planned at the start.

Sweden’s big start in the new role is a meeting of the EU Commission in a few days. And that won’t take place in Stockholm, but in Kiruna – in the very north of Sweden, above the Arctic Circle. The sun rises just after 10 a.m. and sets again three hours later, the average maximum temperature is minus nine degrees Celsius.

The European guests will be welcomed with ice sculptures: “We will offer a very nice setting,” said former community leader Gunnar Selberg to Swedish radio. “Our ice sculptures will make your eyes shine.”

Start in troubled times

The Swedes want a brilliant start in the most turbulent times. Not only in relation to the major European issues such as the war in Ukraine or the energy crisis.

Domestically, there is also a lot of movement in the country: The new government has not been in office for 100 days and has already caused a stir and astonishment in Europe: For the first time, Sweden is being controlled by a middle-class minority government that is being supported by right-wing populists.

The new power of right-wing populists

The Sweden Democrats are not officially in power, but the governing parties cannot achieve anything without them as the strongest force in the right-wing bloc. And so they help govern, at least indirectly, sitting at the table at government press conferences — as recently on the subject of “What to do against criminal gangs in the country.”

The leader of the right-wing populists, Jimmie Åkesson, said quite naturally: “It will be really uncomfortable for criminals in the Sweden that we are governing now. To do this, we have to give the police new tools as soon as possible. For example, vehicle searches etc. without concrete suspicion of a crime.”

More than crisis management?

The strong position of right-wing populists in Sweden will also influence the work of the government in the EU, many believe. And the previous image of Sweden as a major moral power in the world could change. However, there have already been major changes in the past year – a paradigm shift, when the country abandoned its neutrality and applied together with Finland for NATO membership.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wants to look to the future during the six months of the EU Council Presidency: “Crisis management is really a core competence of the EU. We proved that during the pandemic and are doing it now. We also have to take care of things that are outside of the EU crisis management, competitiveness and climate change, we have to prove that we have both immediate crises and long-term European challenges in mind at the same time.”

In addition to these two topics, the focus should also be on security policy with a focus on Ukraine. In addition, the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law as a common, European foundation.

How much of this can be implemented? Göran von Sydow, Director of the Swedish Institute For European Policy Studies in Stockholm has his doubts: “Until now, cohesion in the EU has been great, but there are small signs that we are approaching more complicated times. The consequences of the Ukraine war are not fully foreseeable. And the world situation surrounding the Russian invasion is geopolitically very tense.”

Sweden has six months to push Europe forward – a warm welcome in freezing Kiruna should ensure a good start in a few days.