Sweden turns back on euro

Sweden has voted overwhelmingly to reject the euro in a referendum overshadowed by the killing of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. The final result shows 56.1% voting against the euro, with only 41.8% in favour, on a high turnout of 81.2%. The Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, said the result was a clear victory for opponents of Swedish Euro-membership. A BBC correspondent in Stockholm says the victory will be welcomed by opponents of the euro in Britain and Denmark, the other two EU countries outside the eurozone. European Commission President Romano Prodi said it would mean Sweden losing influence in EU decision-making. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who aims to lead his country into the eurozone, said the Swedish result had "no bearing on our attitude towards the single currency". German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder deplored Sweden's no, but said "the door was not closed and that the possibility of a later Swedish euro entry remained".