Reluctant Swedes expect to join euro
Financial Times, Aug 7, 2000

About 80 per cent of Swedes believe the country will join the European single currency within five years, even though a clear majority would vote against membership.

In a Demoskop opinion poll carried out for the Swedish newspaper FinansTidningen, 47 per cent of respondents said they would vote against joining the single currency, with only 40 per cent in favour.

Surveys have consistency shown a majority of Swedes against membership since February, mainly because they are generally disillusioned with the EU rather than with the euro in particular.

"There is very little discussion about changing over to another currency or tying our monetary policy to the ECB. It is more a case of EU scepticism," said Jan Haggstrom, chief economist at Svenska Handelsbanken.

Added to this, the standard arguments that dwell on the costs to Sweden of staying outside the monetary union have so far proved unfounded. Growth in Sweden is above the average in the euro-zone, while interest rates are lower.

Yet when the same survey group was asked if Sweden would be a member of the single currency within five years, only 13 per cent said no, with 80 per cent answering yes.

The response appears to reflect a feeling that with the largest political parties, the governing Social Democrats and the opposition conservative Moderates, in favour, individuals can do little to stop the project.

Events in neighbouring Denmark could also prove crucial. A yes to membership by Danes in their referendum on the issue on September 28 would be a real boost to the pro-euro campaign in Sweden.

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