News from the Business Community
- Alfa Laval extends strategic partnership with EDF
- Congratulations to IKEA France to a Strong 2025 Performance
- Saab and France continue to strengthen their partnership

Eco Bulletin Board
- KTH and IPP announced a joint seed funding call
- Strenghening nuclear skills for the future
- Sweden – the second most competitive country in 2025
- Professor Pär Olsson nominated chevalier of the order of the Palmes Académiques
- We welcome Emma Hemmingsson as new Country Manager France at Business Sweden

Insights from Brussels
- Newsletter flash from our member KREAB in Brussels

Culture
- The Swedish tradition Saint Lucia celebrated in Notre-Dame

• Access to exclusive events
• Networking opportunities with key stakeholders
• Increased visibility across French-Swedish business platforms

• Herve De Villers, Governance Manager/Author, ALU
• Susanna Ravilly Wennerstrand, Business Development, ABN AMRO

• Hedda Eberstein Lundberg, Student, Science Po
• Saga Norberg, Sustainability Project Officer, Relais & Châteaux
• Melanie Schmitz-Jansen, Business Developer, DataScientest
• Julien Rondeau, DFM Engineer, SLB

Join us in January for our YP Afterwork Kick-Off 2026, an evening dedicated to reconnecting, welcoming new members, and setting the tone for an inspiring year ahead.

Expect a friendly atmosphere, great conversations, and a first look at what’s coming up in our 2026 programme.

Venue: to be confirmed
Time: 18h30 - 20h30
Date: 22/01/2026

Together with Swedish Policy Forum, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France will host a seminar with Martin Gelin, an acclaimed Swedish author and journalist, on the theme of Soft Power.

Recently published in over 20 countries, Gelin’s latest book explores how nations use culture, values, and storytelling to shape global influence.
 

Rejoignez-nous pour un rendez-vous avec IKEA for Business & Hej Workshop, comprenant une présentation, des témoignages ainsi qu’une visite de l’espace.

Lieu : IKEA, Italie 2,  30 Av. d'Italie, 75013 Paris

Plus d’informations à venir très prochainement.

The Swedish enterprise Alfa Laval and the French EDF extends their partnership by signing a major contract to accelerate the development of France’s new generation of nuclear reactors, EPR2. The contract was signed in Paris at the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) and marks an important milestone in the shared commitment of both companies to delivering reliable, low-carbon electricity, according to Jean-Jérôme Semat, Managing Director of Alfa Laval France, North and West Africa and board member Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France.

IKEA France's fiscal results for 2025 looks strong despite a tough year for consumer spending in the furniture market. In 2025 IKEA succeed with attracting more customers (+1,5%) which is considered because of the investments that were made in 2024, such as their low-price positioning. 
As for IKEA France's e-commerce, it now represents 28,9% of the turnover, while store footfall remains stable (57.7 million), supported by an increasingly seamless customer experience between physical and digital channels and the opening of new points of contact.

For the upcoming year IKEA France will:

• Open new stores that will bring together the full IKEA experience under one roof in formats of around 2,000 to 4,000 m². The goal is to open in medium-sized cities where the brand is not yet present, to be closer to their customers.
• Highlight its kitchen offering, with a strong ambition: to strengthen its position as the number-one destination for the French in this sector.
• Have the professional costumer segment as a priority as it is identified as a key growth driver for IKEA France.
• Continue to invest for a more sustainable future. IKEA will continue the rollout of its €100M investment, announced during Choose France 2025, in the production of renewable energy, in the decarbonization of its sites, and in delivering differently, with the objective of achieving 90% decarbonized deliveries by 2028.

Cathrine Vautrin, the French Minister of Defence, visited Saab’s production facility for GlobalEye in Linköping in late November. The Minister was presented information about GlobalEye, a multi-domain Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) solution.

France and Saab already have a solid partnership, as a joint declaration of intent to procure GlobalEye was signed at the International Paris Air Show. The visit was hosted by Micael Johansson, CEO of Saab.

During the fall, Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IPP) and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have strengthened their long-term collaboration through an MoU that was signed in September, followed by a French-Swedish workshop on AI with leading researchers from both institutions in October.

At the French-Swedish Business Day in Paris on December 1st, IPP President Thierry Coulhon and Deputy President of KTH Mikael Lindström announced a joint seed funding call for collaboration between IPP and KTH researchers to be launched in the new year.

The purpose of the seed funding is specifically to strengthen and foster French-Swedish AI research and is also in collaboration with Digital Futures.

Framatome and KTH Royal Institute of Technology signed a new Memorandum of Understanding during the French–Swedish Business Day in Paris, at Pavillon Vendôme on the 1st of December.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of H.E Caroline Vicini, Ambassador of Sweden to France, H.E Thierry Carlier Ambassador of France to Sweden, and Gîta Paterson, President of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France. Both ambassadors delivered introductory remarks before the signature, highlighting the importance of French-Swedish cooperation in the nuclear field.

The MoU was signed on behalf of KTH by Professor Pär Olsson, Head of the Physics Department, and on behalf of Framatome by Violaine CHALON ROUX, Vice President and Head of Framatome Education. 

The partnership focuses on:

• Organisation of joint lectures, seminars and training
• Scientific visits for KTH professors
• Research & development activities to support future nuclear competencies

Sweden – the second most competitive country in 2025

According to Eight Advisory's Competitiveness Report 2025 Sweden ranks as the second most competitive country. The report is structured around four pillars; Economics, Society, Education and Sustainability.  Sweden ranks as number one in sustainability, number five for society and education and as number six in economics. The report covers 58 countries where all the OECD nations are included.

Eight Advisory is a financial, operational and strategy consulting firm, specializing in Transactions, Restructuring and Transformation. Their report has been recognized by Les Echos.

The French Embassy of France in Sweden celebrated Pär Olsson’s contributions to the French-Swedish cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. Pär is a leading researcher in nuclear materials and advanced nuclear fuels, who aims to contribute to the next generation of sustainable nuclear energy, by building a lead-cooled nuclear reactor, a technology which would allow safer and more efficient electricity production.

On November 17 a ceremony was held at the Embassy where Pär Olsson received the “Chevalier” for his contribution to French-Swedish cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

Pär was a researcher at EDF, lecturer at Grenoble INP - UGA and is a Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, a leading researcher in nuclear materials research and advanced nuclear fuels, with the goal of building a lead-cooled nuclear reactor, a technology which would allow even safer and more efficient electricity production.

Pär Olsson was also one of the panelistes at the French-Swedish Business Summit in Paris 1st of December. At this occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding between KTH – Royal Institut of Technology and Framatome was signed, aimed to stimulating and supporting nuclear educational activities and research cooperation between the two countries.

Emma Hemmingson is appointed Country Manager France for Business Sweden/The Swedish Trade and Invest Council. Emma has held the position in an interim capacity since 1 July and has now officially taken on the role as of 15 October.

With 15 years at Business Sweden, most recently as Senior Project Manager in Paris, she succeeds Annika Stål who was appointed VP and Head of Region Europe this summer. Business Sweden is commissioned by the Government and the Swedish industry to help Swedish companies grow global sales and international companies invest and expand in Sweden.

The Commission published its High-Speed Rail Action Plan to accelerate sustainable passenger travel across Europe, aiming to halve travel times between major cities within a decade and strengthen both EU competitiveness and climate goals.

Building on the Trans-European Transport Network, which notably aims to ensure accessibility and connectivity across the EU, the plan sets ambitious measures to deliver a well-functioning and faster high-speed rail network by 2040. Key actions include tackling the barriers that are still preventing new operators from entering the market – such as restricted access to stations, high track access charges, or costly rolling stock investments–, improving capacity planning and coordination, and establishing unified safety and operating requirements. The plan will also ease congestion, increase capacity on conventional lines, and improve services for regional and night trains while strengthening Europe’s security, by facilitating the swift movement of troops and military equipment alongside civilian freight. The plan will benefit from a dedicated EU financing strategy to be prepared in the coming months through a dialogue with Member States, industry and financial actors.

In the same vein, the Commission also released the new Sustainable Transport Investment Plan, aiming to boost investment in renewable and low-carbon fuels for aviation and shipping that require substantial investments from the market, with an estimated €100 billion needed by 2035 to produce the 20 million tonnes of renewable and low-carbon fuels required to achieve the ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime regulations. As such, the roadmap targets at least €2.9 billion in EU funding by 2027 to help the sector meet decarbonisation targets and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. Additionally, the Commission will work with interested Member States to launch an eSAF Early Movers Coalition in 2026, mobilising at least €500 million to finance several large-scale projects. The Investment Plan will also deepen international partnerships to expand global production of these fuels, while safeguarding EU investments and upholding fair competition for EU fuel producers and users.

The upgraded EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) has entered into force on 29 October, with the aim to modernise trade relations and progressively integrate Ukraine into the EU’s Single Market. This follows the Council’s approval of the terms of the new agreement, acting by qualified majority. The opposition leaders included Viktor Orban’s Hungary, along with Poland and Slovakia, the three countries that introduced national bans on the import of certain agricultural products from Ukraine last spring, followed by Kyiv’s decision to challenge those restrictions at the World Trade Organisation.

The original trade agreement, signed in 2014, removed the vast majority of tariffs, notably on industrial goods, but retained some safeguards for agricultural products. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU granted Ukraine a high level of unilateral trade liberalisation in the form of Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs), removing all tariffs and quotas on its agricultural exports, leading to political tension in several EU Member States. With the expiry of the ATMs last June, the EU and Ukraine have been negotiating the DCFTA with the view to offer longer-term predictability and stability to EU and Ukrainian operators while strengthening ties between both parties, as foreseen in the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

The deal is built on three pillars: increased trade flows, alignment of production standards, and a robust safeguard clause to be activated in the event of severe disruptions at the EU or national level. In response to Member States’ concerns, Brussels aimed to balance further trade liberalization, essential support for Ukraine, and the protection of sensitive agricultural sectors in the EU. For the most sensitive goods—sugar, poultry, eggs, wheat, maize, and honey—any increases remain modest compared with the original deal. By contrast, other products, such as dairy like whole milk powder and fermented milk, mushrooms and grape juice, will be fully liberalised. The broader market access for Ukrainian goods is conditional on Ukraine’s gradual alignment with EU production standards, including animal welfare, pesticide use, and veterinary medicines, and requires Ukraine to give annual progress reports in line with the logic of the country’s EU accession process.


Next steps

Once the details of the review have been set, the Commission will adopt a proposal for a Decision of the Council, for the Council to endorse the agreement. The agreement will then be formally adopted by the EU-Ukraine Association Committee meeting in the Trade configuration, followed by formal entry into force.

On 5 November, the Council adopted its position on the 2040 climate target, aiming to reduce domestic net GHG emissions by 85% by 2040 compared to the 1990 levels, with a further 5% reduction through International Carbon Credits. The 2040 target has been endorsed by 21 Member States and introduces a review clause, the possible use for International Carbon Credits up to 5%, and a pilot phase for International Carbon Credits for the first half of the decade.

Following the Council’s vote, the Parliament adopted the compromise deal on the 90% climate target by 2040 on 13 November. Part of the center-right group (EPP), the Social Democrats (S&D), Renew, the Greens and the far-left groups supported the adoption of the target, while the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the far-right Patriots of Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) groups voted against. While the European Parliament mostly aligns with the Council’s position, they notably requested the Commission to assess progress towards intermediate targets every second year taking into account the most recent scientific data and the EU’s international competitiveness, and propose amendments to the EU Climate Law if appropriate.

To recall, the agreement on the 2040 climate target paves the way for the EU's nationally determined contribution (NDC) for 2035, to be presented at the COP30 UN summit in Belem on 10-21 November 2025. The 2035 objective is expressed as a range: a reduction in GHG from 66.25% to 72.5%, compared to 1990 levels, which follows a provisional declaration of intent agreed upon in September.

Next steps

The legislation will now go through inter-institutional negotiations between the Parliament and the Council before it can become EU law.

The Saint Lucia Celebration, which is carried by light and song, is a beautiful Swedish winter tradition. This year, the celebration was organized by Musique Sacrée de Notre Dame, the Embassy of Sweden in France, Saab in collaboration with Adolf Fredriks musikklasser, the children’s choir La Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris and Svenska Sektionen – Lycée International.

A wonderful moment that brought Swedish culture to Paris.