Editing Foreign relations of Sweden (section)

==European Union==
[[File:EU15-1995 European Union map enlargement.svg|thumb|right|{{legend|#003399|EU members in 1995}}{{legend|#ffcc00|Sweden, Austria and Finland}}]]
After the then Prime Minister [[Ingvar Carlsson]] had submitted Sweden's application in July 1991 the negotiations began in February 1993. Finally, on January 1, 1995, Sweden became a member of the [[European Union]]. While some argued that it went against Sweden's historic policy of neutrality, where Sweden had not joined during the [[Cold War]] because it was seen as incompatible with neutrality, others viewed the move as a natural extension of the economic cooperation that had been going on since 1972 with the EU.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Sweden addressed this controversy by reserving the right not to participate in any future EU defence alliance. In membership negotiations in 1993–1994, Sweden also had reserved the right to make the final decision on whether to join the third stage of the [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union|EMU]] "in light of continued developments." In a nationwide referendum in November 1994, 52.3 percent of participants voted in favour of EU membership. Voter turnout was high, 83.3 percent of the eligible voters voted. The main Swedish concerns included winning popular support for EU cooperation, EU enlargement, and strengthening the EU in areas such as economic growth, job promotion, and environmental issues.

In polls taken a few years after the referendum, many Swedes indicated that they were unhappy with Sweden's membership in the EU. However, after Sweden successfully hosted its first presidency of the EU in the first half of 2001, most Swedes today have a more positive attitude towards the EU. The government, with the support of the [[Centerpartiet|Center Party]], decided in spring 1997 to remain outside of the EMU, at least until 2002. A referendum was held on September 14, 2003. The results were 55.9% for ''no'', 42.0% ''yes'' and 2.1% giving no answer ("blank vote").