The Government is proposing Jessika Roswall (M) for the position of Sweden's next EU Commissioner. This was announced by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) at a press conference on Monday.
It's an honorable assignment, says Roswall.
Jessika Roswall is currently EU Minister in the Government and will replace Ylva Johansson (S), who has held the position since 2019.
I want to say first and foremost that I am deeply honored and grateful to have received this trust from the Prime Minister to be nominated. It's an honorable assignment to have the opportunity to become Sweden's next EU Commissioner, she says.
It feels completely fantastic.
To be Interrogated
Jessika Roswall will be sent to Brussels for the new EU Commission, which takes office later this fall. This will be the first time in 28 years that a Moderate has held the position of EU Commissioner. But first, she must undergo tough questioning in Parliament before she can be approved.
I hope I can deliver and pass this interrogation and play a team game with my colleagues, she says.
The Government also wants Ursula von der Leyen to be re-elected as Commission President. The area of responsibility in the Commission that the new Swedish participant will receive will be determined after negotiations with the person who gets that post.
From a Swedish perspective, this government has had the priorities of making Sweden safer, freer, and greener since its inception, says Roswall.
Thanking Johansson
Ulf Kristersson does not want to rule out any portfolio, but thinks that one should focus on issues where Sweden has credibility due to historical reasons or wants to have influence for strategic reasons.
There are 27 countries that all want the heaviest portfolio. That's always the case. But the broad economically competitive, geopolitical, and crime-fighting issues – there are quite a few places where we can make a difference.
He describes Roswall as a generalist, with a strong network and broad respect in the EU.
Both the Prime Minister and the EU Minister took the opportunity during the press conference to thank former S Minister Ylva Johansson for her efforts as EU Commissioner.
She has been crucial in the migration pact, in the decisions that led to the migration package, where both she in the Commission and Tomas Tobé in the European Parliament were very decisive, says Kristersson.
Here are Sweden's EU Commissioners since accession in 1995:
1995-99: Anita Gradin (S), Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner.
1999-2010: Margot Wallström (S), Environment Commissioner until 2004, Vice President and responsible for institutional relations and communication until 2010.
2010-2019: Cecilia Malmström (L), Home Affairs Commissioner until 2014, Trade Commissioner until 2019.
2019-2024: Ylva Johansson (S), Home Affairs Commissioner.
The Commission consists of one member from each of the 27 member states. The Commissioners do not represent their own countries, but are supposed to look out for the best interests of the entire EU.
The Commission President determines which area of responsibility they will receive.
The Commissioner is nominated by the Government, but must then be approved by the Commission President and the European Parliament.
