Think Tank

Sweden is a parliamentary democracy. This is embodied by the Swedish Riksdag, which consists of a single chamber with 349 members, elected for four years. It is also a constitutional monarchy with the King or Queen as head of state. He or she has no political power, however, and carries out only symbolic functions. The head of state opens the new parliamentary session each autumn and chairs the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs. The government proposes legislation or amendments and implements Riksdag ...

Several simultaneous crises have put renewed pressure on the European Union to revise decision-making procedures and economic policies. Russia’s war on Ukraine, growing protectionism worldwide, technological rivalry with China and the US, problems with the rule of law in some Member States, post-pandemic issues and migration woes pose many challenges on the political side. On the economic front, many economists and politicians are calling for fiscal reforms, energy system overhaul and new EU funds ...

The volume of online child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and frequency of grooming activities, increasingly targeting younger children, is rising sharply. On 11 May 2022, the European Commission adopted a proposal for mandatory legislation to combat what is an escalating problem. Reporting of suspected online child sexual abuse increased by 35 % in 2021 compared with 2020, representing a historical peak. Most of the activities detected were hosted in Europe. The Commission proposal would require ...

Both the EU and its Member States have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and use its definition of disability as a common reference at EU level; there is no other harmonised definition of disability in the EU. Although a wide variety of statistical surveys is available in terms of questions asked and population surveyed, a complete statistical assessment of disability in the EU does not yet exist. However, the annual Eurostat statistics on income and living conditions ...

This document provides an overview of public hearings and exchange of views with the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) in the ECON Committee since July 2019. It also provides an overview of all external papers requested by the ECON Committee by a standing panel of banking experts. Lastly, the annex contains an overview of the respective legal bases for these hearings as part of the accountability framework of the SRB. For an overview of public hearings during the 8th parliamentary term, ...