Will Sweden vote in favour of the Euro ?

[starcapitan]

I don't think that Sweden will join €

[Dakkus]

Well, Sweden has signed a paper in 1995, promising that it'll join. And they also have no (logical) reasons not to join the euro. Looking from here up north, it looks more like a matter of time than anything else.

[starcapitan]

Sweden and Denmark I think will stay out of the eurozone , as Svizzera,Norway and Iceland will always stay out of : maybe Iceland is more probable to join
ciao
Is in Sweden goin to be a popular referendum 4 €

[groentje]

And for that reason, it's a pitty Iceland can't join the Euro, says Trichet. Of course, if Kosovo and Montenegro can use the Euro, Iceland can, too, but they're not very welcomed. It could be a way for Iceland becoming more interested in joining the EU, too. However, a rich country choosing the Euro as it's currency could be a trigger for other countries as Denmark and Sweden as well. The UK will be harder to have them change their minds...
At least, this was the theory I just read in a Dutch newspaper (De Pers), and it does sound very convincing to me.

[starcapitan]

oh .. that will never leave the POUND is 1 of the sure things . It is the most valueable currency in the World

[Dakkus]

The "valuable currency" defined by how many Bulgarian Levas you get for one unit of your currency is just stupid. The "value" of a currency is just a matter of definition. They could have defined the value of the Euro as two pounds when the Euro was founded. By that logic, EU would by far surpass anything else when it comes to wealth.
If your logic held water, it could also be argued that Latvia is clearly more wealthy than the 12 Euro countries, because for one euro you only get 0,70 Latvian Lats. The nominal value of one Lat is actually almost precisely the same as that of the British pound.
So.. Would there be point in saying that UK is about as wealthy as Latvia?

[tabbs]

The "value" of a currency is just a matter of definition. They could have defined the value of the Euro as two pounds when the Euro was founded.

While I fully agree with the first sentence, the euro is not the best example in that regard. In terms of external value, it was the "1:1" successor to the ECU. But of course it would have been possible to say that, say, 2 ECU become 1 EUR.

As for the value of a currency, well, the Maltese Lira is much more "valuable" in that sense than the Pound Sterling. And yet Malta is changing over. Interesting, by the way, that both "2008 euro newbies" have currencies where 1.00 (CYP or MTL) is worth more than 1.00 EUR. So far Ireland has been the only country where that was the case.

Christian

[Craft]

I watched rather closely the discussion in Sweden prior to the referendum where they rejected the euro. Maybe the main slogan of the opponents was "Euro is a high-risk project", meaning that people shouldn't trust the euro to hold its value and status in the long term. At the time of their referendum, the euro was still quite young (especially as cash currency) and so the proponents had difficulties in fighting the opponents' slogan since there was very short historical evidence for the euro.

The euro still is very young, and naturally many things may happen to its value and status. But I think that the situation regarding Sweden may become more interesting now that more and more countries are joining in the euro area, Denmark is once again seriously considering to vote on entering, Icelanders have expressed their interest in changing over to the euro despite the country not being an EU member, etc.

I don't of course know any exact details about Swedes' thought, just speculating once more...

(Edit: uh-oh, I now noticed that groentje has had pretty similar thoughts above... )

[Nomen Nescio]

I'm probably prejudiced against our western neighbours, but I reckon that Sweden will not even consider joining €uroland for at least a decade.

I use to follow the debate in Sweden, having relatives and friends there, and I somewhat pointedly dare claim that most Swedes haven't yet noticed that the Berlin Wall has been torn down, they still live mentally in the 70s, in the heyday of the Swedish "people's home". To be naughty, high profile politicos ( and their followers ) in Sweden would probably prefer the Belarussian Rouble to the Euro One reason for this, I think, is that they won't admit to themselves that other countries in Europe has left Sweden behind in many aspects.

Denmark is completely another case, since Denmark is already a half-member of €uroland, the Danish crown being pegged to the euro.

[Guest]

well well, though risking going totally off-topic with that post, i feel obligated to say that the bulgariam lev has not been that low valued currency for more than 11 years now, as it was pegged to the german mark in 1997 and respectively to the euro in 1999 at rate 1 lev : 1 deutsche mark, which means 1 lev : 0,5113 eur. Also i'd like to add a word of caution as the 1 lev coin is pretty similar to the 1 euro coin, it is easy to pass it as such to any careless citizen of the eurozone and voila you gat an exchange rate of 1 to 1 . So start looking for the cyrilic inscription on the bulgarian "euro" coins and their poorer quality, otherwise you've been screwed. . Also i wonder wheather there would be any euro users left by the time bulgaria joins the euroarea who be willing to accept euro coins with cyrillic inscription cos i supose there would be a lot of people by that time aware of the "lev scam". perhaps someone should start a new topic on the issue...

[eddydevries]

perhaps someone should start a new topic on the issue...

As soon as you're registred, you're free to start a topic for Bulgaria.

[ART]

'Sweden ready for euro entry': report

Published: 27 Jan 09 10:31 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/17178/20090127/

A new report indicates that economic arguments against euro entry are no longer valid and concludes that in the wake of the finance crisis, it is now time for Sweden to join.

The report from the Swedish Centre for Business and Policy Studies (SNS) argues that the situation had changed in Sweden since the 1990s and that the country would benefit from joining the European single currency.

A government report carried out in the 1990s came to the conclusion that on balance Sweden would be better staying out of the monetary union (EMU) and so, while the country joined the European Union, the Swedish kronor was retained.

Harry Flam for SNS, who was one of the architects of the original report, writes in an article in Tuesday's Dagens Nyheter that the circumstances have changed.

"The report shows that Sweden has in practice had the same development of unemployment and inflation as if the country had been part of it (the single currency) from the beginning, but public finances would have benefited from the greater efficiency afforded by a stable cost base and increased trade."

The report shows that base rates set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swedish Riksbank have followed one another very closely over the period.

Flam writes that a stable exchange rate would benefit Sweden. Swedish companies would avoid losing competitiveness as a result of fluctuating rates.

Currently 40-45 percent of Sweden's trade is conducted through the eurozone countries.



Apart from the famous case of Haparanda, Swedish town adjacent with Finland, another...

Swedish town adopts euro

Published: 2 Jan 09 15:21 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/16692/20090102/

Tired of government inactivity, the town of Höganäs, a popular tourist destination on the south-west coast of Sweden, has decided to adopt the euro.

The residents of Höganäs were predominantly in favour joining the European single currency when the Swedish people voted to reject the euro in a referendum on the issue in 2003.

In declaring Höganäs a "Eurocity", county councillor Péter Kovács has renewed calls for the government to work harder to introduce the euro countrywide.

"We have developed a Eurocity logo, which we think will become a standard across Sweden and we believe that almost all the counties in Skåne will follow suit within a couple of years," Kovács said to local newspaper Sydsvenska Dagbladet.

From January 1st Höganäs residents will be able to pay rent, bills and conduct their shopping in either Swedish kronor or euros. ATM machines will dispense either currency without additional charge.

Around 60 percent of stores in the town are reported to have signed up to the scheme and local banks have developed guidelines to accept euro deposits.

Höganäs is located at the northern tip of the west coast of Skåne and is known for its porcelain and beautiful seaside location. The town and surrounding area is a popular destination for tourists from eurozone countries in the summer who will now be able to use their euros almost as if they had never left home.

[Mullams]

Any news on Sweden joining the eurozone?

[tabbs]

Apart from Haparanda and Höganäs, you mean? Not really. Earlier this year, the Swedish prime minister Reinfeldt said that there won't be a new referendum during the current term which ends in September 2010. After that, we will see. Contrary to Denmark and the UK (opt-out), Sweden is theoretically obliged to introduce the euro. But if they don't want to, who cares ...

Christian