Sweden has been a neutral country for 200 years but it has no problem with the Nice Treaty, Prime Minister Mr Goran Persson said yesterday.
"We have stood outside military alliances for the last 200 years and we have no problem with the Nice Treaty from that perspective," he said.
Mr Persson was speaking after a meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, which was organised ahead of the EU summit in Gothenburg in June.
The Prime Minister said he was surprised by those that said the treaty represented a militarisation of Europe. The ratification of the Nice Treaty by EU countries is "our generation's biggest opportunity and also our biggest task," he said.
Mr Persson, said he did not wish to speculate on the consequences if Ireland were to vote No to the Treaty. "If I started doing so it would send a negative signal to the applicant countries," he said. The prospect that some member-states were "suddenly" not going to ratify the treaty would cause confusion and he did not wish to do that.
Asked about the recent speeches from the European Commissioner, Mr Romano Prodi, and the French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, relating to EU tax harmonisation and which hinted at funding of EU defence measures, Mr Perrson said: " I don't see any support for that inside the treaty. I like the debate, we have to go on having discussions. But as Swedish Prime Minister I would never support that type of tax within the EU."
Mr Persson, whose country currently holds the presidency of the EU, said if everyone agreed within the EU, that was fine, but a majority motion on these issues would not suffice.