By Simon Johnson STOCKHOLM, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Sweden's Moderate Party will appoint a commission to weigh the pros and cons of joining the euro if it can remain in power after a parliamentary election
Swedish Finance Minister Proposes Euro Membership Review Post-Election
Exploring Sweden's Potential Euro Membership
By Simon Johnson
Historical Context of Euro Membership
STOCKHOLM, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Sweden's Moderate Party will appoint a commission to weigh the pros and cons of joining the euro if it can remain in power after a parliamentary election in September, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said on Tuesday.
Current Economic Considerations
Swedes rejected euro membership in a referendum in 2003, but with the economy ever more integrated into Europe's, a recent study concluded that the potential benefits of the single currency now outweigh the risks.
Political Challenges Ahead
"I think it's obvious that we should examine this question and it's a task ... I will set to work on as soon as possible in the next mandate period," Svantesson said during a parliamentary debate on euro membership.
The Moderates are the biggest party in the current minority coalition government.
Discussion about Swedish membership of the euro area has been reignited by a series of geopolitical and economic shifts in recent years - not least Russia's invasion of Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
While Sweden's independent monetary policy is widely seen as having helped during the 2008-9 credit crunch, the euro crisis a few years later and during the pandemic, researchers also point to trade and security benefits if Sweden were to integrate further with the euro area.
Svantesson said membership would be many years away, even if a commission were to recommend adopting the euro.
The biggest obstacle is likely to be the Sweden Democrats, the largest party on the right. It supports the minority, coalition government but is dead set against euro membership.
"It (the euro) is a massively risky bet with the welfare of the Swedish people in the pot," Sweden Democrat economic spokesperson Oscar Sjostedt said during the debate.
In 2003, 56% of Swedes voted against the euro with 42% in favour. In May, 49.5% were against and 32% backed the single currency with 18.5% undecided, according to a poll by the statistics agency.
(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
