EU enlargement, support for Ukraine, and regional relations with neighbouring countries
What's at stake: How the EU and Sweden act affects the pace of Ukraine's and other candidate countries' path towards membership, the protection of women in countries that withdraw from international conventions on violence, and the scope for democratic forces in Russia to operate. It therefore concerns security, human rights and Sweden's role in its neighbourhood.
Case texts and AI reasoning are AI-translated from the Swedish originals; the Swedish text is authoritative.
What the vote decides
The question concerns the overall direction of the EU's bilateral and regional relations, including support for Ukraine's reform and EU-accession process, and whether parliament should additionally specifically call on the government to push for Turkey to rejoin the Council of Europe convention on violence against women and for expanded cooperation with Russian civil society, or whether these issues are already sufficiently addressed within existing foreign policy work.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee notes that support for Ukraine is Sweden's top foreign policy priority and that the EU's continued enlargement and cooperation with partners in its neighbourhood is of great security and economic importance, as a geostrategic investment in peace, democracy, security, stability and prosperity. The committee notes that Ukraine's EU accession negotiations have formally begun, that EU member states have stated that cooperation with and support for Ukraine's reform work will continue so that cluster openings can happen as soon as possible for both Ukraine and Moldova, and that Sweden's position is to work for a just and sustainable peace grounded in international law, with Ukraine itself deciding when and on what terms to negotiate with Russia. The committee also notes that the Eastern Partnership has been a successful regional cooperation format with six partner countries since it started, and that the framework is now developing further in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 13 (V)
The reservation (V) calls for the government, both within EU cooperation and in direct contacts with Turkey, to work for the country to rejoin the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention against violence against women, and for Sweden to take a more active role in expanding people-to-people cooperation with Russia around the Baltic Sea, including through a special mandate for the Swedish Institute to promote a security community and democratic development there. The reasoning is that Turkey's withdrawal from the convention risks prompting other countries to follow suit, which could increase violence against women, girls and women's organisations already living under repression, and that support for the Russian peace and democracy movement is important in the longer term.
Summarised from the committee report. Party labels in the summary come from the report, not from the vote.
V–
S–
MP–
C–
L–
KD–
M–
SD–
YesNoAbstainAbsent
What do the votes mean here?
Yes The committee proposal: rejecting the motions (keeping things as they are).
No Backing the counter-proposal: reservation 13 by V.
Abstain The party marks a position of its own that is not one of the two final alternatives.
The plan's stance / Actual vote
AI
Vote
Confidence
Evidence
Vown reservation
–
No 0/21/0/3
S
–
Yes 93/0/0/13
MP
–
Abstain 0/0/14/4
C
–
Abstain 0/0/17/7
L
–
Yes 14/0/0/2
KD
–
Yes 15/0/0/4
M
–
Yes 60/0/0/8
SD
–
Abstain 0/0/60/12
Committee proposal
Parliament rejects the motions
2024/25:1429 by Markus Wiechel et al. (SD) motion 3,
2024/25:3038 by Daniel Helldén et al. (MP) motion 71,
2024/25:3162 by Kerstin Lundgren et al. (C) motions 8, 25 and 26, and
2024/25:3355 by Håkan Svenneling et al. (V) motions 2 and 12.
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna
2024/25:1429 av Markus Wiechel m.fl. (SD) yrkande 3,
2024/25:3038 av Daniel Helldén m.fl. (MP) yrkande 71,
2024/25:3162 av Kerstin Lundgren m.fl. (C) yrkandena 8, 25 och 26 samt
2024/25:3355 av Håkan Svenneling m.fl. (V) yrkandena 2 och 12.
Riksdag decision: The Government has reported to Parliament on activities in the EU in 2024. The report addresses decisions and events in the Union and presents the breadth of the Union's matters based on work in the various ministerial councils.
It has been 30 years since Sweden joined the EU. Parliament notes that a strong EU gives Europe strength and Sweden a stronger voice in global matters. The year has been marked by a difficult international situation, with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and an escalated conflict in the Middle East. Continued strong economic, military, political and humanitarian support to Ukraine and expanded sanctions against Russia have permeated the EU's political agenda.
Rule of law (rättsstatsfrågor) matters remain high on the EU's agenda. Parliament emphasizes the importance of prioritizing these matters and that EU cooperation's fundamental values—freedom, democracy, equality and the principles of the rule of law—must be respected by the member states.
Parliament filed the report away (lade skrivelsen till handlingarna), that is, concluded the matter.
Counter-proposals
The counter-proposal wants the EU to introduce a feminist budget to reduce gender inequality in income and living conditions. (V) — Reservation 13
Motion 2024/25:1438 — Internationella relationer och mänskliga rättigheter av Markus Wiechel m.fl. (SD)
Motion 2024/25:22 — Befästningsarbeten längs EU:s östra gräns av Magnus Jacobsson (KD)
Motion 2024/25:25 — Fortsatt stöd till Ukraina av Magnus Jacobsson (KD)
Motion 2024/25:3023 — Försvar och samhällets krisberedskap av Peter Hultqvist m.fl. (S)
Motion 2024/25:3030 — Sverigedemokraternas biståndspolitik av Yasmine Eriksson m.fl. (SD)
Motion 2024/25:3038 — Stärkt beredskap och ett robustare samhälle av Daniel Helldén m.fl. (MP)
Motion 2024/25:3107 — Internationell samverkan av Morgan Johansson m.fl. (S)
Motion 2024/25:3162 — Internationellt samarbete i en utmanande tid av Kerstin Lundgren m.fl. (C)
Motion 2024/25:3355 — med anledning av skr. 2024/25:115 Verksamheten i Europeiska unionen under 2024 av Håkan Svenneling m.fl. (V)
Motion 2024/25:387 — Separat avtal mellan EU och de belarusiska demokratiska krafternas institutioner som en del av det förnyade östliga partnerskapet av Björn Söder och Markus Wiechel (båda SD)
Motion 2024/25:395 — EU:s avtal med och finansiering av Kubas regim av Björn Söder och Markus Wiechel (båda SD)
Motion 2024/25:516 — Målsättning att göra EU till renodlad frihandelsunion av Josef Fransson (SD)
Motion 2024/25:522 — Stöd för ett fritt och demokratiskt Belarus av Magnus Berntsson (KD)
Motion 2024/25:524 — Stöd för demokrati och mänskliga rättigheter på Kuba av Magnus Berntsson (KD)
Motion 2024/25:528 — Konfliktmineraler och deras offer av Gudrun Brunegård (KD)
Motion 2024/25:868 — Sveriges stöd för Ukrainas frihet och vägval mot Europa av Magnus Berntsson (KD)