The Swedish EU presidency

A painful recession in Europe, uncertain prospects for the Lisbon treaty, a looming gas crisis in Ukraine and a lame-duck Commission are some of the challenges that the Swedish EU presidency will have to deal with in the second half of 2009. The government in Stockholm has listed climate change, asylum policy and migration, EU enlargement and co-operation in the Baltic Sea area among its priorities. Although Swedish management of the EU will compare favourably with the lacklustre performance of the Czech Republic, the perceived success of the new presidency will largely depend on developments that Stockholm cannot influence, as this briefing note argues.