Country profile: SwedenFor Swedes, the only issue that really seems to count in the European elections is whether or not to vote. Scepticism towards the European Union is what will keep the voters away.
In a country where voter turnout is typically over 80 per cent in general elections, Sweden's apathy towards Europe is alarming. The most recent opinion poll carried out in mid-May suggests that the turnout on June 13th will probably be around 35 per cent.
"EU scepticism is an additional factor to the basic driving forces surrounding voter apathy," says professor of Political Science at Gothenburg University, Peter Essaiasson. "The other factors that result in low voter turnout are common to all EU countries - that people don't perceive the election to affect them and that they have more difficulty accessing the information they need to make a decision."
The campaign to date has been extremely low-key but the candidates that have made the most noise are the anti-EU ones. The respected economist and member of the ruling Social Democrat Party, Mr Nils Lundgren, has established a group of euro-critics known as the June List.
Mr Lundgren was one of the country's most vocal anti-euro campaigners when Sweden voted against joining the currency last September. Now he's trying to capitalise on the country's EU scepticism following the rejection of the euro and take his anti-EU sentiment to Brussels.
"We believe Sweden should remain part of the EU," says Mr Lundgren. "But we also believe that most issues should be decided nationally. The European Parliament is being made more powerful all the time and we want to be there to block that shift of political powers from member-countries to Brussels bureaucracies."
Mr Lundgren is confident that one or two of the candidates on his June List will be elected but he believes the momentum is there for further success in the years ahead.
"The political structure in most European countries follows the left-right dimension, but you need a new dimension when you send people to a European Parliament. You need a new political structure to determine how much power should be handed over to Brussels," he says.
Despite Mr Lundgren's confidence, the June List's candidates will have trouble getting any votes if the European debate remains as muted as it has been so far in Sweden. The euro critics require a debate to have their voice heard and the established parties aren't obliging.
The ruling Social Democrat Party is investing four times less in this election than in the general election. Election posters, hoardings and leaflets are noticeably absent and the candidates being put forward are on Sweden's political B-list. The general public has little awareness that an election is about to take place.
Though largely invisible, the social democrats have begun a campaign. The main issue the party is trying to raise is the protection of Sweden's labour laws by creating a European welfare organisation based on Swedish principles.
The Liberal Party has also kicked off its campaign with a call for a European style FBI to fight crime. It followed a survey in the country's Dagens Nyheter newspaper that showed that crime was the issue that most concerned Swedish voters.
The lack of energy in these campaigns means Swedes are likely to vote the way they do in general elections. The Social Democrats will probably take about one-third of Sweden's 19 seats, with the conservative Moderate Party not far behind.