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The Social Democrats in Sweden formed a minority government before the parliamentary elections in September 2022, which relied on the support of other parties. However, the Center Party withdrew from the coalition as its party leader, Annie Lööf, did not want to cooperate with the right-wing Sweden Democrats (SD). Lööf narrowly survived a planned attack by an SD supporter. In the elections, the Social Democrats became the largest party, but the SD became the second-largest party. After lengthy negotiations, the SD, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals formed a government supported by the SD. The new government emphasizes a "paradigm shift" in migration policy and crime prevention, although the Social Democrats had already implemented stricter measures in migration policy in 2015. The new government in Sweden, consisting of a coalition of conservative and right-wing populist parties, has initiated a series of political changes. Among other things, measures to combat crime have been introduced, which could lead to social conflicts in certain neighborhoods. Furthermore, the previous green energy policy has been abandoned, and the construction of new nuclear power plants has been announced. The government has also realigned its foreign policy and now emphasizes support for Turkey in the fight against terrorism. Critics fear that democracy could suffer under the new government and that the Swedish welfare state is at risk. [Extracted from the article]

The Fit for 55 package is the main project of European climate policy and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. It includes measures such as expanding emissions trading, reducing energy consumption, and expanding renewable energies. Regulations for taxing electricity and energy products are also being introduced, and CO2 emissions from cars are to be reduced. Another component is the introduction of a border adjustment mechanism for energy-intensive basic materials. The European Commission has presented various proposals for environmental and climate policy, which have been discussed in the European Parliament. The implementation of the proposals is closely linked to investment programs to address the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, EU environmental and climate policy is influenced by different responsibilities and interests of the member states. [Extracted from the article]

Transformation processes at both the political and societal level are decisive factors for the future integration process of the European Union. Among the member states, highly variable causes for change are evident and particularly the inclusion-exclusion cleavage stands out. In addition, the pan-European crises of recent years have proved to be catalysts for the transformation of European societies and party systems, which is also being driven forward by new communication structures. Although the European elections themselves did not turn out to be an "earthquake" for the European integration process, they do make it more difficult to find a majority and form a government. The campaign themes that shaped the 2019 European elections have proved to be diverse. Environmental and climate policy does not count among the crucial issues for the elections across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yearbook of European Integration is a unique source of information on the latest developments in the European Union. It contains over 100 carefully selected and edited contributions from experts in their respective fields. This year's edition covers topics such as foreign and security policy, environmental and climate policy, energy policy, rule of law, crisis management, regional and cohesion policy, as well as domestic developments in various member states. The Yearbook also provides analyses of the EU's relationship with its neighboring countries, including the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkan states. The project is carried out by the Institute for European Politics in cooperation with the Center for Applied Policy Research at the University of Munich and the Center for Turkey and EU Studies at the University of Cologne, and is supported by the Federal Foreign Office. [Extracted from the article]

The Arctic is becoming increasingly important in terms of energy, security and climate issues on a global scale. Following the coastal states of the Arctic Ocean, which have presented Arctic strategies in recent years, the European Union has started developing an Arctic policy. While more or less consistent guiding principles have been established via several papers and communications, these have been backed up with concrete instructions and practical action to a diverging and an overall rather low degree. As a non-coastal state, the European Union will have to rely on its membership in relevant international and regional organisations, instruments such as the Northern Dimension and cooperation with member and partner states, also in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The access to mineral occurrences becomes more and more difficult, mostly because of their neglectance in land use planning. The prime purpose of the Austrian Mineral Resources Plan is the identification of mineral occurrences, the harmonization of mineral occurrences with other relevant conflicting land use regulations and to safeguard mineral protection zones in land use planning as a proper base for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]