ARTICLE15 March 2019

How EU-decisions affect Swedish companies

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has evaluated how the major decisions taken within the EU during the last mandate period affect Swedish companies. Our evaluation shows that 24 of the 57 legal acts we have chosen to look at have been positive for Swedish companies.

Sweden is an export-dependent country where about half of our GDP comes from exports. The competition Swedish companies have met since they opened up to the outside world have pushed for the necessary efficiency improvements and structural changes.

This, in turn, has led to increased productivity and a higher level of prosperity. The EU has given us completely new opportunities to trade and to cooperate within one of the world's largest integrated economies.

However, in a globalized world, competitiveness is the only way to secure long-term prosperity. Swedish companies need a well-functioning EU, which can handle the growing number of issues that cannot be resolved nationally. Unless Europe's countries and companies can claim themselves internationally, we cannot manage to create either jobs, growth and social security.

Now is it only a few months left for Jean-Claude Juncker as president for the European Commission. It has been four intensive years where the European countries' consensus has been tested as never before in modern times.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has evaluated how the major decisions taken within the EU during the last mandate period affect Swedish companies. Our evaluation shows that 24 of the 57 legal acts we have chosen to look at have been positive for Swedish companies.

We consider almost the same number of acts as OK. Trade policy as a whole is given the best grade, with the EU concluding a large number of important trade agreements despite a difficult global trade environment. Unfortunately, some decisions, especially related to social policy, have been negative.

Here we are particularly concerned that the Swedish labor market model may be threatened, not least after the Swedish government's initiative on the social pillar. Furthermore, the EU has not lived up to businesses’ expectations in the field of the digital single market, where regulatory frameworks still hamper entrepreneurship and innovation.

Even the efforts in the single market, among the most important for Swedish companies to benefit from the EU, are judged insufficient. We know that Europe could do so much better to address fragmentation and barriers on our common market.

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Contact our EU Office

Address

Rue du Luxembourg 3
BE-1000 Bruxelles
Subscribe to our Swedish newsletter
Contact our EU Office

Address

Rue du Luxembourg 3
BE-1000 Bruxelles
Subscribe to our Swedish newsletter
Contact our EU Office

Address

Rue du Luxembourg 3
BE-1000 Bruxelles
Subscribe to our Swedish newsletter
Publisher and editor-in-chief Anna Dalqvist