ABSTRACT
Up to the crisis package in autumn 1990, membership was considered unthinkable by the Social Democratic leadership, with the European Community seen as something like a symbol of capital and free-market forces. But after a couple of changes of direction in press statements, suddenly the official line was precisely the opposite. Sweden ought to seek membership. In the view of some observers, Sweden’s path to the Union became clear, albeit retrospectively, soon after it announced in 1990 its intention to apply for membership. Just as Europe’s changed geopolitics cast a new light on Swedish security policy, it was argued that something similar had happened in the field of economic policy. By the end of the 1980s it was clear that the economy was seriously overheating. Some in the labour movement argued subsequently that the policy change was coming anyway, and that the financial crisis had only a marginal effect on the timing of its announcement.
