The war in Ukraine, economic uncertainty, and a heavy legislative agenda. The Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU has not been short of challenges. As the presidency draws to a close, SIEPS and EPC will gather experts for a hybrid policy dialogue in Brussels on 26 June.

In January 2023 – almost a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – Sweden took the helm of the Council at a crucial time for Europe. Partly in line with its previous presidencies, Sweden focused on four priorities: security, competitiveness, the green and energy transitions, democratic values and the rule of law.

While the war in Ukraine and its multidimensional impact remained at the centre of discussions, the Swedish Council Presidency had to deal with parallel challenges including energy security, growing inflation, economic uncertainty, and an already packed legislative agenda. What has been achieved over the past six months? Has the Swedish Presidency been able to tackle other policy issues beyond the collective response to crises? What are the main challenges and opportunities for the upcoming Spanish Presidency as we approach the European elections in 2024?

This hybrid policy dialogue is the final event in the ‘Project Presidency’ series of joint activities organised by the EPC and the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS) to discuss policy issues during the Swedish Presidency of the Council.

Register for the event here.

The Green Deal shows the EU raising its environmental ambitions. The European commission has already made several proposals, including tougher climate measures. But existing conditions are different across the EU. How can the countries of Central and Eastern Europe maximize their benefit from the Green Deal, and not end up on the wrong side of a widening gap? And what does it take for the whole EU to benefit from higher environmental ambitions?

These questions were discussed by experts at a webinar on 20 October 2021. The talk was based on a European policy analysis from SIEPS: "The European Green Deal and the Risk of Widening the East-West Gap" by Julian Popov. The author is a Fellow of the European Climate Foundation and former Minister of Environment in Bulgaria. Jytte Guteland, Member of the European Parliament (Social Democrat) and Péter Kaderják, Director of the Zero Carbon Hub in Budapest commented on Popov’s analysis and joined a panel discussion with the author.

The webinar was held in English.

Political accountability is essential for a well-functioning European Union. How is this function exercised, and how can it be improved? These questions were discussed by experts at a webinar on 6 October 2021.

Accountability – the idea that actors should be answerable for their actions – is a crucial part of a democratic system. The EU has a complex, multi-level system of governance in which actors (the Commission, Member States, the European Parliament and others) are held responsible for their actions by the public, or by each other, and sometimes by both. Understanding and improving these political accountability mechanisms is essential for a well-functioning, democratic union. But how is the control of EU actors exercised in real life? What can citizens do to hold their representatives politically accountable for their decisions? When and why do the institutions object to each other’s decisions? Are the decisions always taken in forums that can be held politically responsible? Are the decisions sufficiently transparent to enable an adequate review of them? These are examples of issues that were discussed in a SIEPS webinar on 6 October.

During this webinar, Yannis Papadopoulos, professor of public policy at the University of Lausanne, presented his SIEPS report, Political accountability in EU multi-level governance: the glass half-full. The report offers a bird’s eye view of the status of accountability in the political system of the European Union, emphasizing its strengths and weaknesses. The presentation was followed by an expert panel discussion on the topic of the report and related issues.

In the run-up to the federal election, Germany has seen unprecedented volatility in the opinion polls and very high uncertainty regarding the electoral results. What is likely to change under a new government and how do the results of the election on 26 September 2021 affect EU policies and the Future of Europe? What are the European issues that a new governing coalition in Berlin will have to address?

In September 2021 Senior Researcher at SIEPS Valentin Kreilinger discussed the implications of different coalition scenarios in “Germany goes to the polls: how will its EU policies change?”. Following the election, SIEPS is bringing together Valentin Kreilinger and other experts to discuss the consequences of the results.

Many domestic decisions in Germany will have a profound impact on the EU: Germany’s post-pandemic fiscal and economic policies; its fight against climate change; the country’s role on the international stage, and German policy towards Russia and China. But its Europapolitik also matters: how will Germany pursue the EU’s aim of strategic autonomy? What aspirations will a new government have for the Conference on the Future of Europe? Is Germany able to cede more sovereignty to supranational institutions and is it willing to accept being outvoted by its partners if decisions are taken by majority? And does the country really want to embark on changing the EU treaties or is it slowly turning Eurosceptic and putting its national interest first?

These questions and others were addressed in a webinar and discussed by a panel of experts with extensive policy and research experience on Wednesday, 29 September 2021, 11:00-12:30.

The webinar was conducted digitally. A recording is available below.

The Commission is a key institution in the EU, but how equal are women and men in the Commission? And what is the Commission doing to live up to the high ambitions of the European Union in the area of equal rights between women and men?

This webinar discussed the present situation, the drivers and barriers to explain this situation, as well as potential remedies. This included discussions of the importance of the inner workings of the Commission for the EU, as well as the fundamental issue of how equal rights impact the quality of policy-making and the lives of the citizens of the member states of the EU.

Two analyses published by SIEPS were presented by their authors:

• Miriam Hartlapp and Agnes Blome (both of Freie Universität, Berlin) describe the gradual increase of women as Commissioners and Directors Generals, with a discussion of drivers and barriers for this development. The text is available here (sieps.se).

• Rachel Minto (Cardiff University) and Lut Mergeart (Yellow Window) discuss gender mainstreaming in the Commission, i.e. procedures to promote the inclusion of gender-related aspects in all policies. Problems are identified and explanations are discussed. The text is available here (sieps.se).

A recent report, Gender Mainstreaming in the EU-budget: Time to turn words into action, was presented by Eva Lindström, Swedish member of the European Court of Auditors. The report looks at whether the EU has applied gender mainstreaming in the EU budget to promote equality between women and men from 2014 onwards. The report is available on the Court of Auditors' homepage: www.eca.europa.eu

Comments were given by Cecilia Malmström, former Swedish Commissioner, and by Lena Ag, Director General of the Swedish Gender Equality Agency (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten). 

An updated version of the EU’s “New Industrial Strategy for Europe”, presented a year ago, was discussed at SIEPS’ webinar on May 12 2021. The further evolution of the strategy was analyzed in light of last year’s dramatic developments.

Examples of questions that were discussed are:

• How has the pandemic influenced the view of the health sector and need for readiness?

• What has happened to the plans for diversifying strategic value chains?

• How to deal with foreign subsidies that distort competition on the internal market?

• What role for the Green Deal and digitalization in the updated strategy?

• What does it mean to identify vulnerabilities and build resilience?

• Is the strive for “strategic autonomy” just a cover for protectionism or a plan for strategic investments, necessary in a more competitive global economy?

A recording of the webinar is available here.