Motions to congress reveal split on Europe

Date: 14/03/1996

By Ole Ryborg

WHEN the Swedish Social Democrats hold their extraordinary congress in Stockholm this weekend, members of the country's governing party will attempt to force their leaders to adopt a formal European policy for the first time ever.

Media attention in the run-up to the congress has focused primarily on the fact that it will elect current Finance Minister Göran Persson as the new head of the party and successor to outgoing Premier Ingvar Carlsson.

However, the congress will do more than simply appoint Persson as party leader. It will also spell out a party policy on Europe, forcing the new prime minister to walk a tightrope as soon as he takes over.

If the party is to be judged by almost 100 motions tabled by different constituencies for the debate on Europe, it seems British Eurosceptics may have found themselves new allies on issues such as institutional reform and monetary union.

A vast majority of the motions concern economic and monetary union - and here the message to the party's central office and its new leader is clear: rank and file Social Democrats want a referendum on the issue and definitely do not want the government or parliament to decide to join a single currency without consulting the people first.

From the wording of many of these motions, it is evident that party members blame EMU for recent cuts in the Swedish welfare system, devised by Persson as finance minister and introduced by the government in an attempt to regain control over the country's enormous debt and deficit.

Several also call on the Swedish government to ask the Intergovernmental Conference to include an article in the next EU treaty specifically to allow a member country to leave the Union.

Faced with such a large number of Eurosceptic motions at the congress, the party's central office will have its work cut out to avoid decisions being taken which would bind the party's leaders to specific policies in the run-up to the IGC.

On EMU, central office is insisting that no decision need be taken now and will therefore propose that the party postpones finalising the issue until its next congress.

Persson will warn this weekend's meeting that it would be dangerous and unnecessary to say No to EMU now.

On other areas on the IGC agenda, the party's central office is hoping to get the members' endorsement for the memorandum already submitted by the government.