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Demokratiskolan
The Unions & alliances card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 119 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaSweden in the world
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Sweden in the world

Unions & alliances

Teaming up with other states

Sweden has bound itself to other countries in ever closer layers: Nordic cooperation, EU membership since 1995 and NATO membership since 2024. Such ties move power, create obligations and give influence. The decisions to join or stay out are among the biggest a country makes, and they are taken by the Riksdag (Sweden's parliament) and the Government (the cabinet), sometimes after a referendum.

Where does the power lie?1

  • State · negotiates, ratifies & represents · approx 65 %
  • EU · treaties & the terms of membership · approx 35 %

Entering or leaving unions and alliances is a matter for the Riksdag and the Government. Once in, the memberships, above all the EU's treaties, steer large parts of Swedish politics. The general election weighs heaviest, the European Parliament election steers the union's direction.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityNo seat at the table
The regionAffected, does not decide
Central governmentThe one who signs · centre of gravity
Who decides?
No formal role when Sweden enters unions and alliances.
No formal role in membership questions.
The Government negotiates, the Riksdag approves. Moving decision-making power to the EU requires a broad majority in the Riksdag.
What do they decide?
The consequences still land locally: EU rules steer municipal procurement and NATO membership gives municipalities tasks in total defence.
EU membership steers the regions' funds and rules, and many regions monitor the EU through their own Brussels offices.
EU membership, NATO membership, Nordic cooperation and other treaties: what Sweden promises, pays and gets back.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) when the consequences have to be handled, not when the memberships are decided.
In the regional executive board and the Brussels offices, which monitor rather than decide.
In the Government Offices, the Riksdag chamber and the EU committee, where the Government's EU line is anchored.
Who pays?
Nothing from the membership fees.
Nothing from the membership fees, but EU funds go into regional development.
The central government budget: the EU fee and the contributions to NATO and other organisations.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Get involved in the municipality's preparedness work or in a voluntary defence organisation.
Regional election The regional election steers how the region uses the EU's funds and networks.
General election The general election steers Sweden's stance. Big choices have sometimes been decided in a referendum.
EUThe EU is the deepest of Sweden's unions: the treaties decide what the EU may decide on behalf of the member states. The European Parliament election is your direct voice in the union.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case The road into an alliance: how Sweden became a NATO member
  1. State

    The security situation is redrawn

    After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Government and the Riksdag made a new security policy assessment. A line that had held for decades, non-alignment, was reconsidered within a few months.

  2. State

    The application is submitted

    The Government decided to apply for membership, after consultation in the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs (utrikesnämnden) and debate in the Riksdag. A country becomes a NATO member only once all member states have said yes, which made the process long.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers who makes choices like these. Between elections, debate and public opinion are the ways to make a difference.

  3. State

    The Riksdag ratifies

    The Riksdag approved the accession and changed the laws that were needed. In March 2024 Sweden formally became a member of the alliance.

  4. EU

    The EU track: the membership that was voted in

    Sweden's EU membership took a different route: an advisory referendum in 1994 where the yes side won, followed by a Riksdag decision and entry in 1995. A referendum is a tool that can be used for big choices.

    Point of influence

    In a referendum your vote is directly decisive, not filtered through elected representatives.

  5. Municipality

    The obligations land locally

    Membership is not only foreign policy. Municipalities and regions have tasks in total defence, from crisis preparedness and shelters to supply when society is put under pressure.

    Point of influence

    Join a voluntary defence organisation or get involved in the municipality's preparedness work.

  6. Your everyday life

    A new normal

    Training flights over your town, conscript neighbours, the emergency box in the storage room. The everyday life of the alliance shows in small things, and the next big choice will be debated again.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which decisions do you think require a referendum, and which can the Riksdag handle on its own?

  2. What does Sweden gain and what does it lose by binding itself in alliances rather than standing free?

  3. EU membership steers large parts of Swedish politics. Do you notice it in your everyday life, and where?

  4. How should a small country like Sweden gain influence in cooperations where big countries dominate?

  5. Which international cooperation means the most for your town: the EU, the Nordic region, NATO or something else?

Glossary

Ratificera
The formal approval of an international agreement, in Sweden usually through a Riksdag decision.
Fördrag
A binding agreement between states. The EU's treaties act as the union's rules of the game.
Rådgivande folkomröstning
A referendum where the result guides the Riksdag without binding it, like the EU vote in 1994.
Alliansfrihet
The line of staying outside military alliances, Sweden's stance up to the NATO application in 2022.
EU-nämnden
The Riksdag's body where the Government anchors its line ahead of meetings in the EU's Council of Ministers.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.