ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to Swedish responses to the development of the European community (EC). Since 1973 the basis for Swedish-EC relations has been the free-trade agreements on manufactures. Swedish politicians have remained faithful to their European free trade association (EFTA) commitment, arguing that the EFTA card remains a first-rate asset. The Swedish case was argued in Madrid, London, Brussels, and later in Paris. Over time, all EC members have been courted by ministerial visits. Domestic measures, however, have transformed Sweden's relations with the EC from bureaucratic routine to an issue that pervades large parts of Swedish society. An advisory council representing the Swedish business and corporative elites has been created. With increasing EC support for interinstitutional discussions and as a result of the guidelines for implementing the European economic space project, EFTA members have been forced to rethink their commitments. Legal considerations and politics have been separated in the shaping of Swedish EC policy.
