Sweden rejects euro membership
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedes voted not to adopt the euro in a referendum, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Goeran Persson, the leading campaigner for Swedish membership of the European single currency.
"I can now state that the result is clear, very clear," a grim-faced Persson said on public television after an exit poll and a partial count of the vote pointed to a clear victory for opponents of Swedish euro membership.
The result is expected to have major repercussions elsewhere in Europe.
With 81 percent of ballot papers counted, the "no" camp was credited with 56.2 percent of votes, against 41.7 for the "yes" camp, according to the election authorities.
"The result reflected a deep skepticism towards the EMU project," Persson said, referring to the road to Economic and Monetary Union within the European Union (news - web sites).
But the prime minister, speaking at the headquarters of the pro-euro Social Democratic party, said he would not resign following the defeat.
"No, no, no," Persson said, when asked whether he would step down.
"No" campaigners, gathered in their headquarters in central Stockholm, gave loud cheers as the results came in.
"I'm so relieved," shouted Carl Schlyter, a Green party activist.
In Sunday's referendum, Swedes were asked to decide whether they wanted to swap the krona for the euro, which is used in 12 of the 15 EU countries.
The vote was overshadowed by the death on Thursday of leading "yes" campaigner foreign minister Anna Lindh, who was stabbed by an unknown assailant the previous day.
There had been signs that a sympathy vote following her murder might swing the "yes" side to victory, overturning opinion poll trends but this did not materialise.
Asked on Swedish television whether Sweden would lose influence within the EU as a result of the vote, the president of the bloc's executive Commission, Romano Prodi, said: "Certainly yes."
The Swedish "no" vote is expected to strengthen opposition to the euro in Denmark and Britain, the only other EU members not to have joined up to the single currency.
Swedish business leaders immediately said they would demand "swift compensation" from the government, saying Swedish rejection of the euro would hurt industry.
"Sweden will not crash down into hell if it's a 'no' but we will be at a disadvantage. Therefore, we must take advantage of the broad unity that we have seen on the 'yes' side regarding the need for growth in Sweden," Goeran Thunhammar, head of the Swedish employers association, told TT.
Scandinavian banks said the krona fell sharply against the euro after the vote.