Stockholm takes the presidency of the 27-nation bloc for the next six months amid the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, as well as its right turn in domestic politics.
Sweden is set to take over the EU's rotating presidency from January 1 vowing to maintain unity on Ukraine and uphold free trade in the face of calls for a tougher response to US green subsidies.
Alongside Russia's conflict with Ukraine and trade, Stockholm has outlined climate crisis and protecting EU "fundamental values" in the face of disputes with Hungary and Poland as priorities.
The presidency rotates among EU member states every six months.
But the main questions for Stockholm as it takes the reins of the 27-nation bloc at this tumultuous time could be how new dynamics in its own domestic politics play out, after Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson formed an unprecedented alliance with the far-right Sweden Democrats, on the European stage.
Helene Fritzon, a European Parliament member for the opposition Social Democrats, said there were "lots of pretty words" from the Swedish government over its plans.
A bigger worry is how the neophyte administration copes with the burden of helping navigate the EU through such choppy geopolitical waters, said Goran von Sydow, director of the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies.
"So many of the ministers and their closest political aides have very little experience of at all being at EU meetings,"said von Sydow.
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Anti to traditional stand
Traditionally Sweden, which voted against joining the euro single currency, has had a slightly stand-offish relationship with Europe.
"They tend to keep a bit of a distance," said Sebastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.
He predicted that Stockholm would "fulfil its duties" during its six-month presidency, but "there won't be too much zeal".
Unlike grand summits in Prague Castle and Versailles that marked the preceding Czech and French presidencies, there is no major gathering planned in Sweden.
EU ministerial meetings in the country will take place in a modest conference centre near Stockholm airport.
Challenges ahead
On issues of substance, Sweden is looking to relaunch negotiations for free trade agreements with a string of countries and regions.
But this push could be overshadowed by a potential showdown with Washington over the impact of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.
The $430-billion (400 billion-euro) plan is set to come into force, with a raft of subsidies for green industries that have been decried as protectionist in European powerhouses France and Germany.
While negotiations are underway between Brussels and Washington for a solution, calls for a tough line from some in the EU have stoked fears of a trade war.
"Stockholm will have to manage the tensions between the 27 EU member states on the degree of their response and how aggressive they are," said Maillard.
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