Sweden to take over the presidency of the EU Council

Sweden will take the EU Presidency from the Czech Republic.

Sweden, which will hold the presidency until the 1st of July 2023, has determined the topics that will be prioritized in this period:

Security

Sweden will give priority to the continuation of military and economic support to Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. Sweden argues that Ukraine's EU membership process should also be supported and more steps should be taken to rebuild the country.

In addition, the Swedish presidency, which will emphasize both consensus among European countries and close cooperation with partners for the security of Europe, will also underline the fight against cross-border organized crime.

Foreign policy

In foreign policy, the priority of the Swedish Presidency will be Russia. Emphasizing that other developments in the EU's own environment are also of vital importance for the Union, Sweden wants to increase closer contacts with the relevant countries. Drawing attention to the importance of the security situation in the Balkans, Sweden states that stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean is in the strategic interest of the EU.

Sweden also thinks that cooperation and mutually beneficial relations with Turkey are important for the strategic interests of the EU.

Economy

Reminding that political decisions and attention aim to eliminate the effects of the Ukraine war in the short term, Sweden will emphasize the importance of long-term decisions and emphasize the need to maintain economic growth.

The Swedish government, which advocates keeping the transatlantic ties with the USA strong, will also try to direct its economic policies in the environment brought by the protectionist economic decisions of the American administration that may adversely affect the European countries.

Sweden plans to put a common stance aimed at maintaining Europe's competitiveness at the top of its political agenda.

Energy

The Swedish government aims to reduce energy prices in the short term and to reform the energy market in the long term.

It is aimed to accelerate the efforts of the EU, which accelerated the transformation into renewable energy by reducing the dependence on fossil fuels in energy after the war in Ukraine, and to create policies to facilitate investments in this regard, during its presidency.