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Public Awareness in the Pre-Accession Period in Sweden

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Public Awareness in the Pre-Accession Period in Sweden Public awareness in the pre-accession period in Sweden 1 Editor: Rolf Engström, MFA, Press and Information department Layout: Jonas Nilsson, MFA, Press and Information department Cover photo: Jonas Nilsson, MFA, Press and Information department Print: XBS Grafisk Service, Stockholm 2002 ISBN 91-7496-300-7 Art. no.: UD 02.066 2 The Swedish Government’s work on information and the media 1991–1994, prior to the Swedish referendum on membership of the EU Contents: 0. Introduction....................................................................................5 1. Background to the negotiations.........................................................6 2. Selected strategy..............................................................................8 3. Financing.....................................................................................12 4. Media management – focus and organisation...................................14 5. The Secretariat for Information on European Affairs..........................18 6. Public opinion on membership.......................................................25 7. Conclusions..................................................................................27 8. Appendix......................................................................................30 9. Appendix II......................................................................................36 3 4 Introduction Sweden’s membership of the European Union became an issue in the early 1990s. Application for membership was submitted in 1991. By then, negotia- tions on the EEA agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the European Community (EC) were already well under way. Soon enough, Sweden would have close cooperation with the EEA countries. The Government had declared its intention of submitting the question of Sweden’s membership to a referendum even before Sweden’s formal applica- tion. All political parties represented in the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament) agreed. The Riksdag also informed the Government that major information activities would be necessary prior to a referendum. The outcome of a referendum was not given. Irrespective of a possible out- come, it was recognised that thorough information was needed on the EEA agreement, on the existing EC and on the EU, which would come into force in November 1993, well before an eventual Swedish membership. There were thus several steps in European integration that had to be covered in the Swedish information campaign. The information activities that took place between 1992-1994 are described in this leaflet. It has been put together by Martin Haag, who at that time was Press Secretary to the Minister of European Affairs, and Thomasine Hindmarsh, then Information Officer at the Secretariat for Information on European Affairs. The material is based on the writers’ own experiences from that time. During the autumn of 2002, it will also be presented in speeches in some of the candidate countries engaged in planning referendums of their own. 5 1. Background to the Swedish negotiations · Sweden outside the EC/EU for many years · Surprise application in 1991 · Public opinion positive from the outset The Swedish request for membership of the European Community was made public in late 1990. The formal application was submitted to the EC Council of Ministers in July 1991 by the (then) Social Democratic Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson. This step was seen as a total change in direction, as opposed to the earlier, very hesitant Swedish attitude towards EC membership. The question of membership had been an issue of public debate for many years, but the main obstacle had always been the traditional Swedish foreign policy of non-alignment. What made the situation change was primarily the new security order within Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. After the general elections in September 1991, a new, centre-right government was formed, headed by Prime Minister Carl Bildt from the Moderate Party. The new government fully supported the application for EC/EU membership and made it one of its top priorities. The Government wanted “to bring Sweden fully into the European Cooperation through negotiations for Membership of the European Community”, as it stated in its first declaration to the Riksdag in October 1991. The Prime Minister appointed a special minister within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Foreign Ministry) to be responsible for the forthcoming negotiations. The assignment was given to Mr Ulf Dinkelspiel, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade. The application for membership had broad political support, both from the Social Democratic Party (Sweden’s largest party) and the new coalition government, although there were very different opinions towards membership 6 within the four government parties as well as within the Social Democratic Party. Membership or not was an issue that divided parties from within, rather than between them. The (smaller) Left Party and the Green Party were clear opponents to membership however. Around the time of application, public opinion was very much in favour of membership. According to the main poll institute (SIFO/Research Inter- national) over 60 per cent of the population was in favour. The question in the poll was phrased as follows: if there were a referendum today, would you vote Yes or No to a Swedish membership (of the European Community). The Yes-side had had a majority in the polls for several years, but public opinion was soon to change in a negative direction. Public opinion was a key to the whole process of membership, since the main political parties had decided in 1991 that the people should have the final vote through a referendum after negotiations. It is thus fair to say that, even at an early stage, the Government knew that it would have to conduct two parallel negotiations: one with the EC/EU and its members concerning the conditions for membership, and one with the Swedish people concerning public support for this bold new project. 7 2. Selected strategy · Information seen as a key issue · A separate body for factual and unbiased information · Financial support for adult education and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) · Government taking part in the debate – in favour of membership With the future referendum in mind, the issue of information, the media and opinion was seen as crucial from the beginning. This had also been of prime importance during the earlier process of Swedish-European integration, comprising membership of the EEA, an area of cooperation between the EU and EFTA (where Sweden had been one of the founders). The Swedish Riksdag had already asked the Government for proposals for increased information of various kinds. In view of this, the Government proposed to the Riksdag an information campaign in two stages: Stage 1. During the first year (fiscal year 1992/93) financial support was to be awarded to organisations wishing to inform and bring into discussion the European process of integration; the EEA agreement, the EC/EU and the Swedish membership application. The Government proposed a separate delegation, under the chairmanship of former Centre Party Prime Minister Thorbjörn Fälldin, to allocate grants and financial support to adult education and NGOs. Establishing a separate delegation was a way of avoiding the Government being accused of only promoting its own EU-positive policies. The Riksdag had also expressed the importance of engaging the adult education associations. 8 The Fälldin Delegation consisted of five persons, all of them experts on European integration. They also had very different opinions on the membership issue. The delegation was given the task of allocating money to adult education information projects run by adult education associations and Swedish NGOs over a two year period. The aim was to raise public awareness on EC/EU issues. (See more in details in the Appendix). Apart from the delegation, the main responsibility for EU information rested with the Foreign Ministry, which also conducted and coordinated the negotiations. Within the ministry, a separate body, the Secretariat for Information on EU Affairs, was planned to be set up. Stage 2. During the second year (fiscal year 1993/94) financial support would also be allocated to organisations wishing to conduct a formal campaign pro or contra Swedish membership, with the upcoming referendum in mind. The Government proposed to the Riksdag that the money available should be divided equally between the “Yes” and “No” side. Information issues led to a comprehensive debate in the Riksdag. Support for an information campaign was vast. There were requests for special information for women, as well as strong support for the traditional Swedish NGOs conducting various kind of education. The Riksdag stipulated that information was to be broad and comprehensive and mirror all sides. Both the positive and negative aspects of a Swedish membership should be highlighted and debated. The Government’s own ambition, with support from the Riksdag, was to concentrate primarily on information about the negotiation process. The Government was to provide basic information about the negotiations, proving that the results were in line with the demands that Sweden had already presented at the outset of negotiations. It would be false to pretend that the Government could give a “neutral” or indifferent attitude towards membership. It was clear from the start of the process that the Government’s
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