Sweden in the EU

Special session of the General Assembly, United Nations, New York, 2–4 June 2021 Check against delivery

In July 2020, EU heads of state and government agreed on a recovery package to mitigate the effects of the crisis. The package, called NextGenerationEU, comprises EUR 750 billion (2018 prices) in loans and grants to Member States. The main part of this will be channelled through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). On 28 May 2021, Sweden submitted its recovery plan to the EU.

The Government has decided to maintain the entry ban to Sweden for travel from third countries, i.e. outside the EU/EEA. The entry ban on travel from EU/EEA countries, which involves a ban against entering Sweden unless a negative COVID-19 test result can be presented, will also be extended. However, the Nordic countries will be exempted from the entry restrictions as of 31 May.

Each year Member States submit a national reform programme to the Commission, which reports on implementation of the European Semester, which is a framework for the coordination of economic policies across the European Union, in national policies.

Discussions at the special meeting of the European Council on 24 May were dominated by the events in Belarus involving the forced landing of a passenger plane in Minsk to detain a journalist. The EU leaders also discussed the situation in Russia. On 25 May, discussions mainly centred on EU climate action and vaccine coordination.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will meet with other EU leaders at the European Council in Brussels on 24–25 May. Items on the agenda include climate action, vaccine coordination and the situation in Russia. The EU leaders will also discuss the EU’s relations with the UK.

The Government decided today to support the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning new rules to make the EU budget conditional on respect for the rule of law.

The Government has today presented a bill to the Riksdag containing certain supplementary provisions on law enforcement and police cooperation to the agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom.

The Government has today decided on an amendment to the temporary ban on entry into Sweden. The amendment concerns an exemption for residents of a certain specified non-EU country and is in line with the Council of the European Union’s latest recommendation to EU Member States.

The European Commission will be invited to Kiruna when Sweden holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January–30 June 2023.