During its six-month Presidency of the EU Council, Sweden intends to push forward the EU’s trade agenda in an open way. It will work to “ensure that the EU continues to build open, strong and sustainable trade links with the rest of the world, and that it enters into modern bilateral and regional free trade agreement”, it says in a document detailing its priorities from January to June 2023.
Sweden’s course is clear: agreements and partnerships with the Indo-Pacific region, Latin America, but also Australia, India, Indonesia, Mercosur, Mexico and New Zealand must be supported, despite the many obstacles that have prevented them from moving forward so far.
Swedish Trade Minister Johan Forssell had already indicated that the trade agenda would be a priority for the Swedish Presidency (see EUROPE 13054/5).
Stockholm also wants to prioritise transatlantic relations at a time when they are being intensively discussed at the highest level (see EUROPE 13085/2).
See the Presidency programme: https://aeur.eu/f/4p5 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)