Annika Lillemets

Annika Lillemets, born 1962, is a Swedish MP for Miljöpartiet (The Green Party of Sweden) since 2010. In her first first term of office in Riksdagen she was a suppleant in the tax committee and the traffic committee. In her second term of office, beginning after the national election 2014, she is a suppleant in four other committees:the culture committee, the business committee, the social welfare committee and the committee for foreign relations.

Miljöpartiet is, since the national election of 2014, for the first time in Sweden, part of the government. However, several of the governments decisions have been heavily critisiced within Miljöpartiet itself. One of the most outspoken internal critics is Annika Lillemets.

After Carl Schlyter, also well known for his critique of several government decisions, was forced away from his post as the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Union Affairs (Swedish: EU-nämnden), and Valter Mutt was forced away from the position as a Foreign-policy spokesperson, Annika Lillemets left her suppleant positions in the Swedish Parliament as well, voluntarily, in mid 2016, as a sign of support for the two. Jabar Amin, another MEP för Miljöpartiet did the same.

Thereafter these four MEP quit going to Miljöpartiets own working meetings in the Parliament for several months. Instead they formed a group of their own and had their own meetings. Except the strong critique of Värdlandsavtalet with Nato, which they voted against, the group also voted against the government and the Miljöpartiet-line in the decision to temporarily tightening of the immigration policy (Flyktinglagen) and Vattenfall’s sale of coal mines. In december 2016 the group, however, returned to attend the Green Partys working meetings in the Parliament.