Sweden loses an important ally in the UK when the EU’s next long-term budget is negotiated, writes Europaportalen. The question of the EU’s next long-term budget for the years after 2020 was discussed when EU finance ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday and suggested challenges for Sweden. “It is clear that the long-term budget is coming up all the time. It is obvious that it will be a very complicated process. It will be the hardest negotiation of the long-term budget ever,” said Magdalena Andersson (S) after the meeting. The hardest issue to crack will be managing the shortfall created by Brexit. Britain leaves a budget gap of an estimated SEK 120-150 billion a year at a time when the EU is facing new challenges. The question divides the EU’s member states, with some willing to give more, while other countries, like Sweden, take a more restrictive outlook. Magdalena Andersson says that she has talked with like-minded countries such as Sweden’s Nordic neighbours, the Netherlands and Austria, but that she cannot count on support from Britain any longer.