Our last formal engagement was a lunch hosted by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) at the organisation’s headquarters, where we were welcomed by the EESC’s own Ellen Nygren. A venerable organisation (it was founded in 1898), LO is imbued with a particularly Swedish mixture of common sense and collegiality. There was a David Low cartoon on the wall, together with several paintings of industrial landscapes, but this could otherwise have been any boardroom. The LO has published a leaflet on the Swedish model and the importance of collective agreements in Sweden and it is well worth while reading. Food for thought!