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This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved an approximately €1.4 billion (SEK 14 billion) Swedish scheme to support the uncovered fixed costs of companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of […]
This article is brought to you in association with OECD. The OECD Working Group on Bribery has since 2012 repeatedly urged Sweden to reform its laws to ensure the investigation and prosecution of companies that bribe foreign public officials to obtain advantages in international business. Sweden’s legal provisions to hold companies liable for foreign bribery do […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Emma Charlton, Senior Writer, Formative Content Sweden’s departure lounges are looking less crowded as more Swedes are deciding to take the train rather than fly. Passenger numbers at Swedish airports have dropped 8% so far this year. The […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Rosamond Hutt, Senior Writer, Formative Content Sweden is known for its progressive social policies, albeit paid for by high taxes that fund a robust social safety net, generous parental leave and publicly funded healthcare and education. There’s even […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Charlotte Beale In Sweden, you can walk, ride, cycle, ski and camp on any land you like, without the landowner’s permission. You can also forage, picking as many flowers, berries and mushrooms as you wish. And you can […]
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven debated the future of Europe with MEPs and Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, on Wednesday. In his address to MEPs, Prime Minister Löfven stressed that the EU must step up to defend its fundamental values to create hope for the […]
This article is brought to you in association with OECD. The Swedish economy is operating close to full capacity, with robust growth and strong employment, but uncertainties linked to the global economy shroud the outlook. Policy should aim to prolong the expansion and ensure that economic success continues to promote inclusiveness, well-being and social cohesion, according […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Sean Fleming, Senior Writer, Formative Content An estimated 1.5 million school students worldwide turned their back on lessons last week to stage the biggest wave of climate strikes since the protests began. Global map of school strikes Image: Fridays […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Sean Fleming, Senior Writer, Formative Content For the last 20 or so years, workers in Sweden have enjoyed an unusual perk – a statutory right to take six months off and start their own business. The Right to Leave […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Johnny Wood, Writer, Formative Content Scientists are exploring whether coniferous trees might help to counter the effects of global warming. Deep in Sweden’s spruce forests researchers from Lund University are studying the cooling qualities of organic compounds called terpenes, […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Alex Gray, Senior Writer, Formative Content Sweden is a land of trees. More than 70% of its landscape is covered by forest and in less than 100 years, Sweden’s forest assets have doubled. Yet this is also a country […]
This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Cecilia Skingsley, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Sweden (Sveriges Riksbank) The Swedish retail payment market is rapidly moving away from using cash. The outstanding value of cash in circulation has dropped to 1% of Swedish GDP. This development […]
This article is brought to you in association with OECD. Sweden’s efforts to embrace the shift to digital have been a key driver of economic growth in recent years, yet more needs to be done to get remote areas of the country online, bring digital technology to small firms, upgrade skills and meet security and privacy challenges, […]
The EU budget will be the main topic of the EU summit which will be held in Brussels on Friday. The leaders of the 27 member states have to deal with the annual gap that UK will leave after Brexit occurs ensuring that the priorities set for the Union will be adequately funded. According to […]
The 23rd conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP23) concluded last Saturday in Bonn but little progress was achieved and everyone is now awaiting next year’s negotiations in Poland where a rule book for the Paris agreement has to be finalised. All member states should reconsider their emission cuts upwards via […]
It was two days ago when the European Commission’s draft report revealed “serious deficiencies” of the Greek government to comply with its obligations under the Schengen’s Agreement rules regarding the control of the migrant influx. If these suggestions are voted by the majority of the EU member states, then Greece will be given a 90 […]
It was last Monday when Sweden decided to impose ID-checks at its borders with Denmark. Of course, this action didn’t remain unanswered by Denmark which tightened controls at its southern border with Germany. This anti-Schengen spirit has been created by the influx of migrants and refugees coming to Europe daily in thousands and is meant to stop undocumented […]
This article was exclusively written for the Sting by Mrs Bodil Valero, Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Green Party For a long time, climate change has been seen as a “soft” issue, one that states and citizens can afford to care about when the rest of society’s problems aren’t as pressing. Portrayed as separate […]
For the average EU citizen, the right of free movement within the Union’s borders, is the most important and visible attainment in the sixty year history of the European Union. Very few Europeans are in a position to appreciate the advantages of the free movement of capital and goods, while everybody understands and benefits from […]
The European Commission published yesterday a study on Value Added Tax (VAT) evasion and fraud in the 27 EU member states, estimating the lost state incomes from this source at €193 billion only in one year, 2011. This is the difference between the actuall and the potential receipts from VAT, that is the VAT GAP. […]
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) in a report that was published yesterday reveals that the EU spends billions to help the rural economy restructure but with poor results, delivering “only limited value for money”. EU spending on agriculture be it production and producer subsidies or supporting structural investment plans has being traditionally criticised not […]
Apart from the largely hypocritical cries by European politicians mainly in Brussels about civil rights breaches, the only concrete and immediate implications that the American PRISM scandal could have had on EU-US relations refers to the Free Trade and Investments Agreement that the two sides are about to negotiate. For one thing European citizens are […]
As the European Sting informed its readers last Saturday, the Banking Union divided deeply the entire European Union. For the first time the Ecofin Council, in a Press release issued after its meeting, made no reference at all to the most vehemently discussed item in its agenda that is the “Rules for Bank Recovery and […]
The downward trend of Eurozone inflation was confirmed yesterday by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union. According to this source “Euro area annual inflation was 2.2% in December 2012, the same as in November. A year earlier the rate was 2.7%. The EU27 annual inflation was 2.3% in December 2012, down from 2.4% […]
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