Presentation of the programme of activities of the Swedish Presidency (debate)
Speaker: Philippe LAMBERTS (Belgium, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Ecologistes Confédérés pour l'Organisation de Luttes Originales)
Date: 2023-01-17

  Philippe Lamberts,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madame President, welcome to the European Parliament, Prime Minister. We, the Greens, European Free Alliance, have absolutely no doubt that Sweden, has the logistical and administrative capabilities to successfully conduct the work of the EU Council of Ministers for the coming six months. 
However, I need to be very frank with you. We have grave concerns regarding the direction which your government will choose to lead the coming legislative work. The three parties of your minority government have certainly proven time and again to be loyal and committed partners of the European project. After all, it was the moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals who, together with the Centre Party, brought freedom to the EU. That’s a fact. But unlike 30 years ago, your government is now being held hostage by the Swedish Democrats, an extreme right-wing populist Eurosceptic party that is actually the largest member of your coalition. And despite your claims to the contrary, your agreement with them gives them a direct say, not just on national, but also on EU policies. 
Asylum and migration is the most glaring example of that influence. Since 2015, the EU Member States have been unable, I should say, unwilling to find common response to a challenge that is unlikely to fade away anytime soon. As a result, people have been dying at our borders in a blatant denial of the values on which the EU is built. And even before taking the helm of the Council, your government has already renounced any effort to solve this crisis. What is this, if not the influence, the direct influence, of your anti-migrant coalition partner? 
You may say that, at least on climate, the Swedish Democrats, who deny the gravity of the challenge, did not dictate the agenda, and the priority given to the green energy transition is indeed welcome. But the other issues crucial to the preservation of the planet as our common home are completely absent from your roadmap. This is so surprising when we know how much the Swedish Democrats block any serious effort to restore the ecosystems on which we depend for lives and livelihoods. I am thinking in particular to the urgent need to drastically reduce the use of pesticides, an issue that your presidency seems to totally neglect. 
So beyond the nice slogans, we will judge you on what you will deliver, and we hope you will positively surprise us. Mr Prime Minister, when we met in Stockholm, I asked you why on earth you and your government partners chose to engage with a party that is rooted in nationalism and white supremacism? Your flabbergasting answer was because we agree with them on so many things. Your priorities include the safeguarding of our democratic values and the rule of law. Still, you chose to collaborate with those who threaten these very extreme values. 
So tell me, Manfred Weber, tell me, Stéphane Séjourné, where will this end? How far are you prepared to follow your Swedish colleagues in their new friendships with a party that openly opposes the values that you yourself profess in this House? Is it your secret dream, hope, ambition that the Swedish alliance will become the blueprint for the EU after 2024?