Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU
Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU

Author(s): Đorđe Dimitrov
Subject(s): Energy and Environmental Studies, Economic policy, Environmental and Energy policy, Political economy, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Russian Aggression against Ukraine
Published by: Centar za evropske politike CEP
Keywords: Sweden EU presidency 2023; Ukraine war; economic turmoil; inflation; green transition; EU enlargement; Western Balkans; EU security agenda; crisis management;
Summary/Abstract: On 1 January 2023, Sweden will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union, as the last in the line of the current presidency trio. This will be Sweden’s first EU presidency since the Lisbon Treaty came into force and third overall. The Presidency takes place in time of severe turbulence caused by the prolonged war in Ukraine and economic turmoil characterised by record-high inflation and looming recession. Thus, there is no doubt that Sweden will continue the crisis management work of France and the Czech Republic. The presidency’s slogan ‘Greener, Safer and More Free Europe’ indicates that security and green transition will dominate the Presidency’s agenda. In addition, although the enlargement policy has been widened and now includes Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, it is unlikely that the Western Balkans will strongly feature on Sweden’s agenda. The aim of this insight is to examine how Sweden will manoeuvre through Europe in the midst of an increasingly complex context.

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