Sweden and EMU
- Swedish flag (Photo: EU Commission)
By 56.1 as against 41.8 % of the votes in the referendum on 14th September 2003, Sweden has decided not to join the European single currency.
Although it is legally obliged to participate in the Euro on the basis of its accession treaty, Sweden had chosen to submit the issue to the citizens´vote.
The German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe decided that Germany was allowed to decide its own participation in EMU, despite the provisions of the Treaty of Maastricht. Since Germany was not bound to accept the content of the Maastricht Treaty it had been difficult to claim that Sweden is legally bound by the same Treaty.
Notes
The Swedish “Yes”-side has played down the economic arguments and is currently promoting the political grounds for the adoption of the Euro. Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson was against EMU for many years, but finally put his political weight behind the “Yes”-campaign - without success.