Sweden

Sweden held a neutral position during the Cold War, which led it to reject membership of the EC until after 1991. Sweden did, however, apply for an association agreement with the EC in 1961 when the UK made its initial application for full membership. After de Gaulle's veto, though, Sweden withdrew its application for association. In 1972 Sweden signed a free trade agreement with the EC that was deemed necessary in order to avoid economic isolation of Sweden, whose economy was partly dependent upon trade for its success. Sweden was a keen advocate of the EFTA-EC negotiations that were to prepare the way for membership of the European Economic Area. It's enthusiasm was in part due to the importance of trade to the Swedish economy. However, only four months after the negotiations for the EEA began (June 1990), Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson announced that Sweden would be applying for full membership of the EC. On 1 January 1995 Sweden joined the EC following a yes vote (52.2%) in a referendum in 1994. Sweden opted-out from the single currency when it was first launched, mainly due to popular antipathy towards an initiative viewed as incompatible with the traditional Swedish economic model. In 2003, Sweden held a referendum on the issue of the single currency, in which the electorate voted against adoption of the Euro.

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Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Sweden.

Sweden