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Swedish Support for the EU Falls in Fresh Survey

Swedish Support for the EU Falls in Fresh Survey

(Bloomberg) -- A new poll shows that Swedish voters now hold a less favorable view of the European Union than they did just over half a year ago.

The survey results come amid an increasingly fractious time for Sweden and the EU as finance ministers across the region debate a landmark proposal for a jointly financed 750 billion-euro ($853 billion) recovery plan.

The proportion of Swedes in favor of EU membership declined to 57.2% in a survey by Statistics Sweden, from 60.1% in November.

The ratio of Swedish voters against being in the EU rose to 16.8% from 15.6%. If a referendum on joining the euro were held today, 20.3% would vote yes compared with 21.4% in November; 64.3% would vote no, up from 62.5%.

Sweden is one of four countries in opposition to the current EU rescue plan. Key hurdles to overcome in the negotiations are related to the mix of grants versus loans and the criteria on which aid will be allocated to different countries.

“What’s most important is that when we look closer at it, much of the support in the recovery and resilience fund isn’t going to countries that are truly affected by the pandemic”, Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said earlier this week.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.