Eurosceptics trounced at party congress

Date: 21/03/1996

By Ole Ryborg

“THE Social Democratic party has now also joined the EU.”

With these words Sweden's Foreign Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen summed up the decisions on Europe taken by the country's governing party at last weekend's extraordinary congress.

The congress was called to formally elect Finance Minister Göran Persson as new party leader and successor to outgoing Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson, who will step down today (21 March).

But it also marked a key victory for the pro-European wing of the party over the Eurosceptics who had hoped to use the event to force the new prime minister to take a hard-line stance on the Union.

Although discussion of some key EU issues - including the question of whether Sweden should join a single currency - was postponed until the party's ordinary congress next year, the leadership was able to claim a clear and undoubted victory over the party's anti-Europeans.

Even the leader of the party's Eurosceptic faction, trade unionist Kenth Pettersson, was forced to admit defeat after a series of motions put forward by anti-EU Social Democrats as part of a coordinated strategy were voted down.

One of the key battles between the anti- and pro-European wings of the party was over the question of sovereignty. The Eurosceptics contested the wording for the congress motion on Europe as put forward by the central office, which declared: “In the choice between substantial progress for the citizens of Europe and a formal national right to decide ... we chose the first option.”

Several party members, speaking in the EU debate on Sunday morning, claimed the wording amounted to a step towards a federal Europe.

MEP Maj Britt Theorin demanded this sentence be deleted from the congress motion, but was defeated by a large majority.

The Eurosceptics faced similar defeats in all other votes where they pressed for the party to adopt a less pro-European attitude.

For example, the party agreed to allow majority voting on foreign policy matters not considered of vital interest to non-aligned Sweden.

Only one key vote at the congress could be considered a draw. The Eurosceptics wanted the party to promise a referendum on Sweden's eventual entry into the third stage of economic and monetary union, or to take a decision now not to join. The party's central office suggested instead that discussion of this issue be postponed until the next formal congress to be held in 1997 and won backing for its proposal.

However, scepticism towards EMU remains strong inside the Social Democratic party and battles clearly lie ahead.

In the wake of last weekend's congress, it now seems certain that the new Swedish government will enter the forthcoming IGC with a more pro-European attitude than its predecessor.

But Persson, whose main concern is domestic policy, is not expected to take a keen interest in European affairs. His choice of foreign minister, due to be announced tomorrow (22 March), will therefore be crucial in determining the approach taken by his government to the IGC talks.