Flanders and Sweden defend free trade together within the EU
Flanders and Sweden want to intensify their economic cooperation. Flemish government leader Jan Jambon (N-VA, Flemish nationalist party) had a conversation with the Swedish Minister of Trade Anna Hallberg in Stockholm on Friday. “We are on the same wavelength on many issues”, said Minister-President Jambon. That wavelength is aimed at trade as free as possible.
As the tenth export destination of Flanders and the ninth country of origin of foreign investments in Flanders, Sweden is a very important economic partner. Swedish companies already create many thousands of jobs in Belgium’s Dutch-speaking region. Jambon therefore intends - within the framework of the so-called ‘Flemish Northern Strategy’ - to further intensify the trade relationship. “In the European rankings on research and development, Sweden is in first place, closely followed by Flanders”, Jambon said after his conversation with Hallberg. “We believe, among other things, that we should invest in technology to solve sustainability issues. We can then export these technologies.”
“In the European rankings on research and development, Sweden is in first place, closely followed by Flanders”
Flanders and Sweden are also on the same page when it comes to international trade. “Almost no major trade agreements are concluded at the European level anymore because so many requirements are attached to them. Both the Swedish minister and I believe that a free trade agreement must contain basic principles on sustainability and human rights, but throwing in all the world’s problems only complicates matters”, the Flemish government leader says. “We need to make sure there is some kind of platform as a basis, to have other conversations from there.”
The so-called Open Strategic Autonomy, intended to enable the European Union to strengthen its strategic autonomy while at the same time mainatining an open look towards the world, is promising to become another point of discussion in Europe, according to Jambon. “Of course, you still have to produce a number of products yourself for strategic reasons, but this should not stand in the way of free trade”, he emphasizes. In this respect, the Flemish Minister-President believes it is significant that Sweden will assume the temporary presidency of the EU as of 1 January.
Jambon’s meeting with the Swedish minister was the first official trade meeting between the two regions and, according to Jambon, proved an excellent moment to position Flanders in the area of international trade. The Flemish government leader has also invited his Swedish counterpart for a follow-up meeting in our country, but a concrete date has not yet been set.
During his mission in Sweden, Jambon also visited the Ericsson company in the context of the 5G rollout in our country. The Belgian division of the Swedish telecom giant employs some 250 people in our country. “We want to see 5G realised as soon as possible, otherwise we will fall behind competitively”, said Jambon. The spectrum auction, which will determine which operators can definitively roll out the new generation of mobile Internet in Belgium, is set to take place later this year.
Photo © Belga