Swedish News, July 21:

EU agreed on budget and corona support / Swedish Prime Minister pleased / Higher EU fee for Sweden / Few Swedes go to Denmark 

  • EU agreed on budget and corona support
    EU member states have agreed on a new long-term budget and multi-billion aid to revive the economy after the corona pandemic. The discussions lasted for four days and two nights. The deal involves corona support of 750 billion euros, 390 billion in grants and 360 billion in loans. The long-term budget, in turn, lands at EUR 1,074 billion for the years 2021-2027.

  • Swedish Prime Minister pleased
    Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is pleased with the agreement, which came after "sometimes very tough" negotiations. He believes that it is good both for Sweden and for Europe. "We have been able to secure Swedish discounts throughout the period. These are the biggest Swedish discounts ever,” he said during a press conference on July 21. According to Löfven, the budget also includes increased investments in the environment. EUR 100 billion more than in the previous budget period will now be invested in climate-oriented measures.

  • Higher EU fee for Sweden
    Sweden had to accept that some corona aid will be offered as subsidies rather than as loans, which the government would have preferred. On the plus side, there was instead a much higher discount on the EU fee, of almost SEK 11 billion a year - 1.069 million euros gross. The increasing budget still means that Sweden's EU fee will increase by approximately SEK 6 billion to around SEK 45 billion a year. As a share of gross national income (GNI), however, it is estimated to be about the same as in the last seven years - just over 0.8 per cent.

  • Few Swedes go to Denmark
    For just over a week, Swedes registered in Skåne, as well as in the counties of Blekinge and Kronoberg in the south, are welcome to visit Denmark. Despite this, few choose to go to the neighboring country, writes Sydsvenskan. Right now, traffic on the Öresund Bridge is around 45% lower than in 2019, but of those who travel, the largest proportion are Danes. The increase in Swedes is marginal. The Öresund trains also report that few Swedes travel to Denmark. There is a slight increase in ferry traffic Helsingborg-Helsingör, but it is still 60% lower than normal