Immediately after the Swedish election results, irritated voices were raised in the liberal party group RE (Renew Europe) regarding Swedish L's willingness to negotiate a government that would support SD.

After last week's government settlement, new discussions await within the RE leadership at this week's EU Parliament session in Strasbourg.

- RE has its foundation in the fight against populism and the far right.

There are always other ways to control.

The Swedish situation is not satisfactory – that's the least you can say, states RE leader Stéphane Séjourné at a press briefing in Strasbourg and continues:

- We don't want to sweep anything under the carpet.

This is about principles and we need to have this debate in the group both today and tomorrow.

Support for Karlsbro

In practical terms, RE could suspend or even exclude L from its group.

The group leader emphasizes, however, that the irritation concerns the party's actions in the government negotiations and not Karin Karlsbro, who is the only EU member of parliament from the Swedish L.

- There is someone who has always fought against the far right.

I feel very comfortable with her and her beliefs, says Séjourné in Strasbourg.

Karlsbro herself expects that the criticism and debate will continue, but that it will not affect her role in the party group.

"Hard-to-melt parts"

At a press meeting with Swedish journalists in Strasbourg, she states that the government settlement contains "hard-to-melt parts".

At the same time, she urges her own party to protect its values, not least during the spring of 2023, when Sweden holds the presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers.

- I expect from my own party that during the upcoming EU presidency we will deliver a clear one hundred percent high profile when it comes to defending the principles of the rule of law and work hard against the member states that violate them - and that it is in no way the case that the Sweden Democrats' view of this is reflected in the work, says Karlsbro in Strasbourg.

Hear the EU liberals' group leader about the Swedish power shift in the clip above.