IP Journal, published by the German Council on Foreign Relations, features an op-ed by Scowcroft Center Fellow Erik Brattberg on the rift in relations that could arise between Great Britain and Sweden should Britain decide to exit the European Union:
Over the past few years, Sweden has emerged as one of Britain’s closest partners in the EU. The two countries share several common positions across a number of issue areas, such as free trade and the EU budget. Both countries are traditionally outward-oriented and hold liberal outlooks. This is partly reflected by the strong commercial ties between the two countries. Britain is currently the fifth largest Swedish export market. Sweden is also the home to thousands of British companies. When it comes to investments, Britain is the third largest foreign investor in Sweden. The UK ranks as the fifth largest destination of outgoing Swedish FDI flows.Britain and Sweden also view European politics through a similar lens. They are both geographically peripheral from the rest of the European continent and share a tradition of regarding European politics from an outsider’s perspective. Moreover, they are both constitutional monarchies that were not part of the European project from the beginning – Britain joined in 1973, and Sweden in 1994. Even after becoming members, they have both opted to remain outside EU cooperation in certain areas, such as the eurozone.