Amendments to the Land Acquisition Act in order to prevent the circumvention of provisions on acquisition permits

Denis Begic (S)

Mr. Speaker! It seems that the Committee on Civil Affairs has booked the plenary hall today. We are very pleased to be here all morning.

When I saw this report and that there was a reservation in it, I thought that there would naturally be a debate, until I began to familiarize myself with the matter with the simple name Amendments to the Land Acquisition Act in order to prevent the provisions on acquisition permits from being bypassed.

Mr. Speaker! Many of us nevertheless understand that this is an important law. Agriculture and forestry are significant industries in Sweden. Due to their importance to society, there have for a long time been limitations on the opportunities for certain persons – physical and legal – to acquire land for agriculture and forestry. The purpose of the law is to maintain the balance in land ownership between physical and legal persons. We Social Democrats believe this is addressed in this bill. Therefore, my contribution is very short, and therefore we move for approval of the committee's proposal and rejection of the reservation.

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Mikael Eskilandersson (SD)

Mr. Speaker! First, I would like to move for approval of our reservation and otherwise of the proposals in the report. The rest is admittedly only two parts, one of which is the government's proposal, but it is something we Sverigedemokrater are entirely positive about.

The government has closed a gap in the laws that made it possible for legal entities to acquire land without review. This is something the Sweden Democrats have motioned about and which is now being fixed. The Sweden Democrats' reservation, therefore, is not about the proposal from the government. On the contrary, we welcome the government's proposal and think it is important that the land acquisition laws function as intended. It is also important that the balance between physical and legal owners remains. We stand completely behind the proposal.

Mr. Speaker! Why then do the Sweden Democrats have a reservation? Well, because there is another motion being handled in the same committee report on the land acquisition laws. The proposal is a broad investigation of how generational shifts can be facilitated among Swedish farmers. Farmers are people who often work very many hours every week to provide us others with food, so that we can survive, while at the same time we accuse them of destroying the environment and the climate.

The Sweden Democrats' reservation concerns rural policy and the generational shift that needs to occur among Swedish farmers. The age distribution among farmers is worrying and should worry the government very much. Two-thirds of all farmers are over 65 years old. Two-thirds of the agriculture will soon need to change operators if they are to remain at all.

The problems surrounding a generational shift are many. The biggest problem is probably the low profitability in Swedish agriculture. Low profitability and a high land value make it difficult for people to take over and buy out other heirs. The low profitability also sometimes makes it difficult to even find someone who wants to take over, and that is certainly a reason why so many farms have not changed ownership yet.

Then there is the problem that lease agreements do not follow. Support rules cause complications. Inheritance rules are problematic, and rules for forestry cause problems. It is, in other words, not a problem that needs to be solved, but there is much that needs to be reviewed. Therefore, the Sverigedemokraterna propose a broad investigation that can look at all aspects and all relevant laws. Naturally, the land acquisition laws must also be included. That is why our motion ends up here.

The purpose of such an investigation is to facilitate the generational shift that must occur among the farms in Sweden. Again: Two-thirds of the farmers in Sweden are over 65 years old. I hope that the government takes to heart and understands what need there is to facilitate generational shifts in agriculture, even if our reservation does not win in the vote.

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Lars Beckman (M)

Amendments to the land acquisition laws in order to prevent the decisions on acquisition permits from being bypassed

Mr. Speaker! It has already emerged from the previous speaker's remarks that there is broad political agreement regarding the proposal that the government has put on the table. I move for approval of the proposals in the committee report and for the rejection of the reservation.

This regulatory framework has existed since the beginning of the 1900s. I had expected that Member Denis Begic would have gone through the matter, but for those who are interested in what the government is doing, I can say that a gap in the legislation is being closed to, among other things, ensure that the legislator's intentions are maintained and that generational shifts in companies are facilitated.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 21.)

The Swedish National Audit Office's report on public legal counsel in migration cases

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