EXPERIENCING EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY THROUGH COVID-19: Analysis of Sweden’s Fiscal Solidarity in the Union

As Covid-19 was beginning to spread, European leaders were forced to debate not only the continued funding of the EU for the next 7 years, but a fiscal relief package as well. Sweden resisted calls to approve of the Commission’s 3 trillion-euro plan, begging the question how does Sweden justify its resistance to fiscal redistribution at the EU level in the face of a symmetrical crisis? Solidarity is a complicated subject matter in the world of international affairs, to assist in better understanding a concept written into EU treaties this thesis created a comprehensive typology of solidarity, broken down into humanitarian and social contract subtypes, with the social contract possessing two further categories, interdependence/mutual responsibility, and conditional solidarity. To understand Sweden’s positioning and messaging, the methodology employed was a discourse analysis by utilizing statements made by Swedish politicians and officials from the Government, Riksdag, and European...Show moreAs Covid-19 was beginning to spread, European leaders were forced to debate not only the continued funding of the EU for the next 7 years, but a fiscal relief package as well. Sweden resisted calls to approve of the Commission’s 3 trillion-euro plan, begging the question how does Sweden justify its resistance to fiscal redistribution at the EU level in the face of a symmetrical crisis? Solidarity is a complicated subject matter in the world of international affairs, to assist in better understanding a concept written into EU treaties this thesis created a comprehensive typology of solidarity, broken down into humanitarian and social contract subtypes, with the social contract possessing two further categories, interdependence/mutual responsibility, and conditional solidarity. To understand Sweden’s positioning and messaging, the methodology employed was a discourse analysis by utilizing statements made by Swedish politicians and officials from the Government, Riksdag, and European Parliament to understand the messaging and ideas that were presented in their respective forums. This paper finds that Sweden predominantly utilizes conditional solidarity in its discourse, with modernization, trust and invertedly, identity, being primary factors in determining Swedish disposition of aid. Discourse and internal matters which were created from prior experiences in the early 1990s during a domestic financial crisis, that have bled over into Swedish-European relations. This in turn has opened a gap for anti-EU parties and politicians to mask their rhetoric as a new norm to push a narrative for the breakdown of Swedish contributions and interactions in the EU to prevent further interdependence between Member States.Show less

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EXPERIENCING EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY THROUGH COVID-19: Analysis of Sweden’s Fiscal Solidarity in the Union