Sweden in the EU

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will meet the other EU heads of state and government during a two-day video summit on 25–26 February. The EU leaders will discuss COVID-19 and vaccine coordination on Thursday. On Friday, they will discuss foreign and security policy and relations with the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood

On 22 February, Minister for Gender Equality and Housing Märta Stenevi took part in an informal video conference between EU employment, social affairs and gender equality ministers. Ms Stenevi participated in a discussion on the link between gender equality and the EU’s post-pandemic recovery.

On 24 February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde presented the 2021 Statement of Foreign Policy in the Riksdag. Check against delivery.

At Sweden’s initiative, several EU Member States gathered to discuss the Minimum Wage Directive. The meeting resulted in several Member States joining together to send a letter to the EU Presidency. In the letter, the ministers object to the way the issue has been handled, and suggest that a legally binding directive is not the right approach.

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 in loans and grants to the Member States. The bulk of this will be channelled via the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The Government has decided on a general entry ban for foreign citizens who cannot present a negative test result for ongoing COVID-19 infection upon entry into Sweden. The rules include certain exemptions. There is already a temporary ban on non-essential travel from other countries to the EU via Sweden. Following a call from the European Council and the European Commission, the entry ban was introduced to mitigate the effects of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and reduce the outbreak of COVID-19. In accordance with recommendations from the European Commission and the Council, the entry ban has been extended and amended several times. It currently remains in effect until 31 March 2021.

The Government has adopted a separate ban on entry into Sweden from EEA states and certain other states. A requirement to present a negative test result for ongoing COVID-19 infection upon entry from these states applies – with certain exemptions. The existing decision substantially restricting the possibilities to travel to Sweden from Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom still applies. It has also been tightened with the addition of a negative COVID-19 test requirement for groups that are exempt from the entry ban. The entry bans apply until 31 March 2021 or until further notice. The reason behind the adoption of an entry ban from these countries is to prevent a new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 entering the country or being spread to other countries.

The Government today decided that foreign nationals will have to present a negative test result for ongoing COVID-19 infection upon entry into Sweden, regardless of where they are arriving from. The aim is to reduce the risk of spreading the new variants of the COVID-19 virus that have been detected in a number of countries.

The Swedish Government decided today on certain amendments to the ban on entering Sweden from the United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark. The amendments include an exemption from the entry ban for people who are to receive certain types of care in Sweden.

Vaccine coordination was the main topic on the agenda when Prime Minister Stefan Löfven met other EU leaders via a video conference on Thursday afternoon. They also discussed the production and distribution of vaccines and cooperation with countries outside the EU.