Committee on European Union Affairs
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The Committee on European Union Affairs
The Speaker of the committee is currently Hans Wallmark from the Moderate Party, along with vice-Speaker Matilda Ernkrans from the Social Democrats.
History
In June 1994, a proposal was adopted in the Riksdag for forms of co-operation between the Riksdag and the Government on EU issues,[2] among other things, a proposal for a principle was adopted on the establishment of the EU Committee. Later that year, the Riksdag's position with EU issues and the EU Committee's tasks was regulated by a Riksdag decision:
The Government shall inform the EU Committee of matters to be decided by the Council of the European Union. The Government shall also consult with the committee on how the negotiations in the Council shall be conducted prior to the decisions in the Council. The Government shall consult with the EU Board on other matters concerning the work in the European Union when the Board, for special reasons, calls for such a discussion. The Government shall consult with the Board prior to meetings of the European Council.
— Riksdagsordningen, Chapter 10, §10 (unofficial translation), [3]
In addition to the established EU Committee, the Constitutional Inquiry, before the EU, discussed the possibility that the consultation would take place in the
Speakers and vice-speakers of the committee
List of speakers for the committee
| Name | Period | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berit Löfstedt | 1995-1998 | Social Democratic Party | |
| Sören Lekberg | 1998–2002 | Social Democratic Party | |
| Inger Segelström | 2002–2004 | Social Democratic Party | |
| Tommy Waidelich | 2004–2006 | Social Democratic Party | |
| Göran Lennmarker | 2006–2006 | Moderate Party | |
| Björn Hamilton | 2006–2007 | Moderate Party | |
| Anna Kinberg Batra | 2007-2010 | Moderate Party | |
| Carl B. Hamilton | 2010–2012 | Liberal People's Party | |
| Allan Widman | 2012–2014 | Liberal People's Party | |
| Carl Schlyter | 2014–2016 | Green Party | |
| Åsa Romson | 2016–2017 | Green Party | |
| Jonas Eriksson | 2017–2018 | Green Party | |
| Åsa Westlund[4][5] | 2018–2020 | Social Democratic Party | |
| Pyry Niemi | 2020–2022 | Social Democratic Party | |
| Jessika Roswall | 2022 | Moderate Party | |
| Hans Wallmark | 2022– | Moderate Party | |
List of vice-speakers for the committee
| Name | Period | Political party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lars Tobisson | 1995–2002 | Moderate Party | ||
| Göran Lennmarker | 2002 | Moderate Party | ||
| Carl B. Hamilton | 2002–2006 | Liberal People's Party | ||
| Susanne Eberstein | 2006–2010 | Social Democratic Party | ||
| Marie Granlund | 2010–2014 | Social Democratic Party | ||
| Eskil Erlandsson | 2014–2019 | Centre Party | ||
| Annika Qarlsson[6] | 2019–2022 | Centre Party | ||
| Tomas Tobé | 2019 | Moderate Party | Second vice-Speaker | |
| Pål Jonson | 2019 | Moderate Party | Second vice-Speaker | |
| Jessika Roswall[7] | 2019–2022 | Moderate Party | Second vice-Speaker | |
| Björn Wiechel | 2022 | Social Democratic Party | ||
| Matilda Ernkrans | 2022– | Social Democratic Party | ||
Working methods of the committee
The Committee on European Union Affairs currently has 17 members. In the current term (2018–2022), the
The Committee usually meets with the government on Fridays based on the agenda items that come up at the Council of Ministers' meetings the following week.[2] It is often difficult to know exactly which issues will be the subject of negotiations in the Council of Ministers, as the preparations in COREPER conclude shortly before the meeting and it is only then that points being raised at the Council of Ministers are made known. Normally, the responsible minister (or state secretary) reports back from the previous cabinet meeting and then goes through the agenda for next week's meeting. In the following, the members can then discuss with the government the Swedish position proposed by the government on the issue. The members or parties that do not share the government's view on the issue are expected to clarify this. According to practice, it is in the EU committee that Sweden's negotiating position is determined. The Speaker of the Committee concludes each consultation point by stating whether there is a majority for the government's position on the issue or not.[2]
The EU Committee's political mandate
The material for consultations mainly consists of annotated
Prior to EC[definition needed] membership and even after one and a half years of Swedish membership, the Constitutional Committee expressed what can be described as an established practice, namely that:
It should be possible to assume that the government will not represent a position that is contrary to what the committee has given expressed in the consultation.
—Konstitutionsutskottet/Constitutional Committee (KU), (unofficial translation), [10]
The Riksdag Board considers that the practice should continue, which means that it is not considered sufficient that the government does not do something that is in conflict with the EU Committee's views but instead acts in accordance with the committee's advice and positions.
—Constitutional Committee (KU), (unofficial translation), [11]
The Constitutional Committee states in another report the same year that there must be very good reasons for the government not to represent the committee's position. The EU Committee's advice and views can thus be said to be politically, but not legally, binding.
New system for dealing with EU issues in the Riksdag
In an SOU report from 2002, political scientists Shirin Ahlbäck Öberg and Ann-Cathrin Jungar believe that Finnish parliamentarians are more involved in EU issues and experience parliament's power as greater than Swedish parliamentarians do. The authors say that in general, the difference between the parliaments seems to be explained in different constitutional solutions.[12]
In Finland, the committees have been much more active in EU issues and often submitted opinions to the Grand Committee, (the Finnish equivalent of the EU-Committee) the equivalent of the EU Committee.
There is a desire from the Riksdag and the EU Committee to enter the EU decision-making process earlier, as otherwise there may be a risk that the Riksdag's overall influence over EU policy will suffer. The same applies to the information prior to the meetings of the EU Board, which arrives late due to the work rhythm, and which was perceived by the members, not least in the Board's early years, as deficient. Furthermore, the members of the EU Committee must deal with issues from widely differing policy areas; even though the members are often experienced parliamentarians, the government usually has a head start in terms of expertise.
The Riksdag Committee has an ongoing task to evaluate the Riksdag's decision from 2001 on the Riksdag's handling of EU issues and to
unconditionally examine the forms of the Riksdag's work on EU issues and propose the organizational and constitutional changes the committee deems necessary. A starting point for the committee's work is that EU issues should be integrated as far as possible into the usual parliamentary work and that all members should have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with and follow EU issues. Another is to clarify the role of the Riksdag and strengthen the Riksdag's influence on EU issues. Finally, EU work in the Riksdag must be characterized by the openness with good opportunities for transparency for citizens.
— Constitutional Committee (KU), (unofficial translation), [13]
References
Notes
- SELIBR 14986186.
- ^ a b c d Så arbetar EU-nämnden riksdagen.se
- ^ "Kungörelse (1974:153) om beslutad ny riksdagsordning 10 kap.", lagen.nu. Accessed October 3, 2020.
- ^ Pressmeddelande: Nyvalda gruppledare och talespersoner från Socialdemokraterna Archive 2018-09-28
- ^ Åsa Westlund (S) riksdagen.se
- ^ Annika Qarlsson (C) riksdagen.se
- ^ Jessika Roswall (M) riksdagen.se
- ^ EU-nämnden riksdagen.se
- ^ En EU-Lag blir till eu.riksdagen.se
- ^ "Betänkande 1994/95:KU22:15", Betänkande 1996/97:KU2:28, riksdagen.se. Accessed October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Betänkande 1996/97:KU2:28", riksdagen.se. Accessed October 4, 2020.
- ^ "sou 2002 81 Statens offentliga utredningar 2002:81". riksdagen.se. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Betänkande 2004/05:KU29", riksdagen.se. Accessed October 4, 2020. Archive
Sources
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2020) |
- Hegeland, Hans 1999. Riksdagen, Europeiska unionen och demokratin. En studie av riksdagens arbete med EU-frågor, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Lunds universitet.
- Lindgren, Karl-Oskar 1999. EU-politiken i riksdagen: Om EU-medlemskapets betydelse för den svenska parliamentarismen, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Uppsala.
- SOU 2002:81, Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin och Jungar, Ann-Cathrin. Parlament i bakvatten?
- Ursprungsversionen av denna artikel är en bearbetning av en uppsats skriven vid Statsvetenskapliga institutionen i Uppsala:
- Danielsson, Joacim 2004. Konflikt eller samsyn i EU-frågor? - om konfliktnivån i samråden mellan EU-nämnden och regeringen.