Sweden, Denmark Step Out Of The Shadows As EU's Frugals

Copenhagen, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jul, 2020 ) :Normally perceived as team players, Sweden and Denmark have found themselves playing the unaccustomed role of outliers in EU politics, blocking the widely backed COVID-19 recovery plan.

Part of the so-called "frugal four", the two Scandinavian countries are part of the last holdouts in passing a massive stimulus plan for the EU countries whose economies have been ravaged by the new coronavirus pandemic.

"Until now we have been hiding behind the Brits and broadly people have seen Denmark as a nice, compliant country to EU law, but now the truth comes out," Marlene Wind, professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen told AFP.

Neighbouring Sweden, which joined the EU in 1995, has also mostly looked for pragmatic solutions and not made too much noise at summits.

But it too joined the Netherlands and Austria, and the four are expected to make their opposition clear at the special European Council meeting on July 17 and 18, when the post-COVID-19 recovery plan is on the agenda.

The plan, backed in particular by Berlin and Paris, requires unanimous approval to be adopted.

European Council president Charles Michel was due to present a "negotiation box" on Thursday or Friday, with proposed figures that will serve as a basis for negotiations.