Stefan Löfven

Today in the Riksdag, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced the ministers who will serve in the Government. The change of government will take place at a Council of State at the Royal Palace presided over by His Majesty The King. The Council of State will begin at 14.15.

The Prime Minister and the other ministers were dismissed by the Speaker of the Riksdag today. They retain their positions until a new government takes office. The Government is thus a caretaker government.

Discussions on the situation in Russia and how the EU should manage it, along with LGBTIQ issues, dominated the EU summit on 24–25 June. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and other EU leaders also addressed the COVID-19 situation and the economic recovery.

When the EU’s heads of state and government meet in Brussels on 24–25 June, they will discuss the economic situation in the EU, migration and a number of foreign policy issues. They will also look at activities related to COVID-19. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and his colleagues will kick off the summit with a working lunch with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

On Tuesday 22 June 2021, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will receive Latvian President Egils Levits. They will discuss matters including relations between the two countries, the security situation in the neighbourhood, management of the COVID-19 pandemic and EU matters such as the rule of law.

On Wednesday 16 June, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will receive Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. Mr Löfven and Mr Nausėda will discuss regional security and defence , current EU issues, the situation in Belarus and the Easten Neighborhood, and relations between Sweden and Lithuania, for example with regard to investments, the business climate and people to people contacts.

On Monday 14 June, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will receive European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius.

On Monday 14 June, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will receive President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin in Stockholm. Mr Löfven and Mr Parmelin will discuss relations between their countries, including in trade and innovation. They will also discuss relations between the EU and Switzerland and they can work even more closely together in multilateral organisations such as the UN and the OSCE.

The spread of COVID-19 and the number of hospital patients being treated for it are now decreasing dramatically. The largest vaccination campaign in Sweden’s history is protecting more people every day from serious illness. At a press conference on Thursday, the Government presented its five-stage plan to adapt and phase out the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.