STOCKHOLM—Sweden's largest opposition party has come out against signing up to the latest version of the European Union's fiscal pact, suggesting Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's minority government is facing a struggle if it wants to win enough lawmaker support for the country to join.
Social Democrat economic spokesman Tommy Waidelich said the latest draft was unclear and didn't give Sweden enough influence over the questions euro-zone countries would discuss as part of the pact.
"We don't accept the latest version of the fiscal pact," he said. "We don't think the latest draft is clear enough."
The Social Democrat leadership has said it sees the pact as a "back way" into the euro zone, which Swedes rejected joining in a 2003 referendum.
And it isn't just the Social Democrats who have voiced concerns about the agreement. Two of the other four opposition parties with seats in parliament—the Sweden Democrats and the Left Party—have already said they are against Sweden joining.
The second-largest opposition party in parliament, the Greens, said they would only favor Sweden signing up if the country secured a permanent opt-out of adopting the euro in return.
Mr. Reinfeldt, the leader of the Moderate Party, has dismissed that option outright, saying "it's not going to happen now-it is a process which takes a number of years and we are trying to solve a crisis in Europe now."
The clearest voice in favor of the fiscal pact has been that of Folkpartiet, the second-largest party in the governing coalition. Its leader, Jan Björklund, has been quick to warn of the risks of Sweden staying outside, arguing this could leave the country "in a spectator seat" in Europe.
Recent comments from the prime minister and Finance Minister Anders Borg have suggested that they also see some clear advantages to Sweden being a part of the pact, but Mr. Reinfeldt said that his four-party government hasn't yet made a final decision on its stance.
He said that in return for joining the pact he is seeking as much influence as possible for Sweden and "some kind of presence" when the heads of euro-zone countries meet. At the same time he said the rules of the pact mustn't be binding for non-euro countries such as Sweden.
Changes to the pact since it was first drafted have brought it closer to meeting Sweden's demands, Mr. Reinfeldt said Friday. "It is a work in progress but I think it is going in the direction that we want to see," he said.
EU leaders drafted the fiscal pact in December. Its aim is to hold European countries to tighter budgetary rules as a way of preventing the build-up of the sort of debt burdens now weighing down Greece.
If Mr. Reinfeldt is to produce a version of the pact that will satisfy the opposition then he has to do it fast. The pact is to go before a cross-party parliamentary committee for EU affairs here Friday.
The committee will then agree on Sweden's stance ahead of the summit of EU heads of state and government in Brussels Monday.
wsj.com
Social Democrat economic spokesman Tommy Waidelich said the latest draft was unclear and didn't give Sweden enough influence over the questions euro-zone countries would discuss as part of the pact.
"We don't accept the latest version of the fiscal pact," he said. "We don't think the latest draft is clear enough."
The Social Democrat leadership has said it sees the pact as a "back way" into the euro zone, which Swedes rejected joining in a 2003 referendum.
And it isn't just the Social Democrats who have voiced concerns about the agreement. Two of the other four opposition parties with seats in parliament—the Sweden Democrats and the Left Party—have already said they are against Sweden joining.
The second-largest opposition party in parliament, the Greens, said they would only favor Sweden signing up if the country secured a permanent opt-out of adopting the euro in return.
Mr. Reinfeldt, the leader of the Moderate Party, has dismissed that option outright, saying "it's not going to happen now-it is a process which takes a number of years and we are trying to solve a crisis in Europe now."
The clearest voice in favor of the fiscal pact has been that of Folkpartiet, the second-largest party in the governing coalition. Its leader, Jan Björklund, has been quick to warn of the risks of Sweden staying outside, arguing this could leave the country "in a spectator seat" in Europe.
Recent comments from the prime minister and Finance Minister Anders Borg have suggested that they also see some clear advantages to Sweden being a part of the pact, but Mr. Reinfeldt said that his four-party government hasn't yet made a final decision on its stance.
He said that in return for joining the pact he is seeking as much influence as possible for Sweden and "some kind of presence" when the heads of euro-zone countries meet. At the same time he said the rules of the pact mustn't be binding for non-euro countries such as Sweden.
Changes to the pact since it was first drafted have brought it closer to meeting Sweden's demands, Mr. Reinfeldt said Friday. "It is a work in progress but I think it is going in the direction that we want to see," he said.
EU leaders drafted the fiscal pact in December. Its aim is to hold European countries to tighter budgetary rules as a way of preventing the build-up of the sort of debt burdens now weighing down Greece.
If Mr. Reinfeldt is to produce a version of the pact that will satisfy the opposition then he has to do it fast. The pact is to go before a cross-party parliamentary committee for EU affairs here Friday.
The committee will then agree on Sweden's stance ahead of the summit of EU heads of state and government in Brussels Monday.
wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment