Question Time

ANDRE VICE TALMANNEN

I would like to welcome the ministers. Questions today will be answered by Minister for Employment and Integration Johan Pehrson, Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, Minister Niklas Wykman, and Minister Paulina Brandberg.

A question must be of an overarching and general political nature or concern a subject that falls within the Council of State's area of responsibility and concerns his performance of duties. The question shall therefore not concern, for example, conditions within political parties. Minister for Employment and Integration Johan Pehrson answers both general political questions and questions within his own area of responsibility.

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Annika Strandhäll (S)

Madam Speaker! Yesterday, new information emerged regarding the troll factory that the Sweden Democrats operate in their communications department. One of the employees is being dismissed after having spent several years, under his own name, writing pro-Putin posts on social media where he, among other things, has defended the annexation of Crimea and blamed the war on Nato.

It is a serious matter that opinion makers with a positive attitude towards the Russian aggression are employed at a party office in Sweden's Riksdag. Even more serious is that the same party has officials in the Government Offices' coordination office.

My question to Johan Pehrson, in his capacity as the general policy respondent, is whether the new tasks will lead to any consequences regarding the work in the Government Offices, with respect to these officials.

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! It is of course clear that there are many government representatives who have been clear that this is very serious and directly inappropriate. I have also noted that the Sweden Democrats themselves have taken measures.

The question of democratic dialogue is important. Investigations are working broadly and openly on how we should review how to work with both funding and transparency. There, one can have slightly different opinions on how appropriate false-flag operations are and whether they should be permitted at all, with or without an intermediary.

The consequence of this person's extremely inappropriate behavior is very clear.

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Annika Strandhäll (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!

It is undeniable that the revelation about the Sweden Democrats' troll factories has caused a significant stir. The second name on the Liberals' list in the election to the European Parliament, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, has recently stated in an interview that it is very clear that the Liberals will not cooperate with the Sweden Democrats in the future.

How does the announcement that you are leaving the cooperation after the next election affect the government's work during the remainder of the mandate period?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! I answer here as a representative for the government, but it is no great state secret that the Liberals have been very, very critical of the behavior that, among other things, was revealed just recently by the person who now, as I understand it, has been forced to leave their position.

We have a cooperation called the Tidö Agreement, which is intended to take responsibility for Sweden. I assume that everyone who participates in this cooperation also takes responsibility for Sweden and the agreement.

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Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Minister for Employment and Integration Johan Pehrson.

"A true friend of Sweden fights for a stronger Europe." That is how it sounded recently when the minister spoke in an interview on SVT. Sounds good, one might think, but what happens when a stronger Europe means a weaker Sweden? I am, of course, referring to the supranational institution EU, where power is being gradually shifted from our country. A couple of examples concerning the minister's work are forced migration and forced rest periods, but the list is, of course, very long.

What I am trying to get at is that everything indicates that the current policy is leading us toward something that could be called the United States of Europe, where our country becomes some kind of province rather than an independent nation.

One therefore cannot avoid reacting to the minister's statement on what a friend of Sweden is. Therefore, my question is: Will the government and the minister actively work to counteract the shift of power to the EU?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! It is difficult to make any other interpretation than that the questions concern what the Liberals specifically think in this matter, so I take the liberty of answering based on that.

The government is very pleased and sees the importance of a strong EU, where we cooperate to solve the fateful issues that the entire European Union faces.

What I personally mean and what I was asked about is that alone is not strong. Sweden has a very difficult time managing the climate work alone to ensure that we become the world's first climate-neutral continent. It is very, very difficult to win the fight against crime without further cooperation, and it is very, very difficult to manage our economy if Sweden does not sit in the innermost rooms and make decisions that are to the benefit of investments in Sweden, for the benefit of both Kumla and Karlstad.

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Leonid Yurkovskiy (SD)

Madam Speaker! Thank you very much for the answer, but I still lack some clarity regarding the question itself.

The whole situation is something I want to call the liberal paradox, where more modern liberalism seems to mean less freedom and self-determination both at the individual level and for us as a people to shape our own societies.

The question itself was: What is the government's view on the fact that decision-making power is gradually but surely being shifted to politicians and officials in other countries whom we can neither elect nor dismiss? Will the government work to counteract this?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! The Government's position is that it is important to solve Europe's future problems. The Government is very united in that it is about competitiveness and climate, it is about tackling crime, and it is about standing up for what is important for Sweden.

The government's position is that a forward-leaning, active cooperation in the EU benefits people in Sweden. It increases freedom, and it increases, not least, the chance that we can together stand up against Russia, which is an acute threat to Europe and, in part, Sweden.

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Maj Karlsson (V)

Madam Speaker! The cold facts revealing SD's troll factory are extremely serious. It concerns disinformation, hate, threats, and racism that intimidate political opponents, plague the debate, and ultimately lead to politically motivated violence. It is a threat to democracy.

In connection with Kalla fakta's revelation, it emerged that the Sweden Democrats have registered websites with names directed at groups in Sweden of Arabic origin. These domain names appear in a context where the international influence campaign spreading rumors that Swedish social services kidnap children from Muslim families has been discussed.

When the Swedish Security Service raised the terror threat level from a three to a four during the past year, one of the reasons was the so-called LVU campaign.

Has Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall investigated whether SD has actively participated in the LVU campaign that has put social workers in danger and hindered the social services' work in helping children who are suffering?

(ANDRE VICE TALMANNEN: I want to remind you to ask questions that concern the ministers' areas of responsibility.)

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the question, Maj Karlsson!

When we entered the Government Offices in October 2022, it became painfully clear that the previous government had not conducted any concerted work against the extremely important influence campaign, the LVU campaign. It is a campaign that not only causes very serious work environment problems for our social workers. It is also, ultimately, a threat to our democracy.

At the very most, there is a risk that this could lead to children who are vulnerable and who need society's support the most not receiving that support.

I am working from my area of responsibility to ensure that the government now has a unified effort and that we influence the disinformation campaign where it is spread, including in social media. This has not happened previously.

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Maj Karlsson (V)

Madam Speaker! I perceive the Minister's answer as her considering herself to have ensured that SD has not whipped up the terribly serious situation with the disinformation campaign about LVU. Since the Minister has such a conviction about this, I expect that the Riksdag will be given access to that information shortly.

That the country's social secretaries have been subjected to a hate campaign, which can directly affect children's safety, is so serious that it must stand beyond all doubt that the government parties themselves have not been involved.

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank you very much for the follow-up question.

It is incredibly important that all parties that call themselves democratic ensure that their own party is not involved either. I take responsibility for my party. I believe there is also reason for the member to look at what their own party has done regarding this issue.

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Ulrika Liljeberg (C)

Madam Speaker! The EU's recovery plan after the pandemic means that member states receive EU money for investments in their countries. It is something Sweden needs, even though we have indeed moved from recession to weak growth. What the money is received for are plans with investments where at least half of the money goes to things that provide recovery but also lead to reduced climate emissions.

Today, the EU Commission regrets, however, that Sweden, together with Hungary, are the only countries that have not received any money this year, because we do not have a plan. Tens of billions of kronor that Sweden could have received have been on hold for over a year.

The government has removed the reduction obligation from Sweden's climate policy and also from the recovery plan but has not replaced it with anything else. This means that climate emissions are increasing in Sweden and that we are not receiving any recovery funds from the EU.

My question to Minister Wykman is why 25 countries in the EU receive money from the EU's recovery fund but not Sweden.

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! Not all of the EU work and all the funds that can be applied for there are directly within my area of responsibility as Minister for Financial Markets. But I can answer the question broadly.

Sweden shall, of course, work actively both to have good common EU solutions and to take part in the solutions that exist. The work being carried out in the European Union and how Sweden takes part in it is also reported carefully.

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Ulrika Liljeberg (C)

Madam Speaker! I thank you anyway for the general answer.

The question then becomes how the Minister assesses the possibilities of extracting these funds, given the lack of climate policy that yields results here and now and the circumstances under which the issue still applies.

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! It must be assessed within each individual area what Sweden can seek and should receive funding for.

On a general level, Sweden should be active in the EU and take part in the resources available there in a way that is appropriate in Sweden and compatible with the activities we conduct here.

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Saila Quicklund (M)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Employment Johan Pehrson.

Sweden has major integration problems. For example, unemployment is three times as high among foreign-born people compared to those born in Sweden. In May, the government therefore presented proposals for new integration policy goals.

How do these differ from the current goals? And why does the government believe that the new goals will make a difference when it comes to getting more newcomers to learn Swedish and enter the workforce?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! Sweden is a fantastic country. We have provided protection, support, and opportunities for many people. We also provide clear aids for education and for learning Swedish. But we also set certain requirements.

Then it is important that the objective itself is clear. It should, for example, be about self-sufficiency, opportunity for own work, access to education, democratic anchoring, and some social and cultural anchoring. It is quite difficult to measure that in some areas.

How many people are working is not difficult to measure. It is done all the time. But we need to move forward. When so many adults and healthy people are registered at, for example, Arbetsförmedlingen but do not enter the labor market, it is often an integration problem. Very simplified, there is then only one way forward. It is that one must learn more Swedish and address the lack of basic education which is often the reason why one is unemployed.

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Saila Quicklund (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Minister for Employment!

In order for exclusion not to be inherited, it is also important that children with foreign backgrounds succeed in school and learn Swedish. Without language and completed schooling, they risk, among other things, ending up outside the labor market.

What is the government doing to improve the conditions for children born abroad to succeed in school? And do the new integration goals contribute to that work?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! School is the key to most things. School is the campfire that exists in Sweden and which shall nurture, provide opportunities and convey knowledge to the next generation.

If the uphill climb is extra large because one perhaps does not speak Swedish at home, the answer is more language preschool, so that one can have slightly better Swedish when one arrives at school. And if one has difficulty reading, counting, and writing, one should not practice less on it. Then one should practice more on it.

That is why we are restructuring large parts of the school policy. For example, we are moving out digital screens and moving in books. This benefits, in particular, all young people who may have a special uphill battle when it comes to language.

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Magnus Jacobsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment.

On Tuesday, the Director General of Arbetsförmedlingen was with us in the committee, and we received information that approximately 349,000 are unemployed and 80-85 percent are far from the labor market. We also received the interesting information that unemployment is at its lowest in northern Sweden and higher in old motors such as Stockholm, Västra Götaland and southern Sweden.

What is the government and we doing together now to facilitate the matching on the labor market?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! What is being done to match better is, as I answered in a previous question, to ensure that people who lack the competence that is requested actually get it and can work their way toward it. One receives an offer to learn. However, one must do the learning oneself. It is quite difficult to learn, regardless of age. But there is no other way to build a stronger Sweden.

The initiatives are on everything from SFI and improving it to have clearer both requirements and expectations but also opportunities. There shall be more vocational adult education in the municipalities. And vocational higher education programs are now hitting new records in numbers. It has indeed shown that they respond very well to the labor demand that exists in, for example, Norrbotten and Västerbotten.

But it does not stop in those parts of Sweden. It is growing so much that it's cracking in all of Sweden. The needs are very large. One must also be open to labor immigration.

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Magnus Jacobsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Fiscal Policy Council's report for 2024 also shows that there are matching problems that are more geographical. For example, it is noted that if more people from Skåne were to move north, it would reduce unemployment. This is therefore not actually dependent on age, gender, or origin but rather on geography. What is the government doing to facilitate distance matching in the country?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! Arbetsförmedlingen has a mandate to help move people a bit further than within the traditional so-called labor market policy area or within the labor market region. Therefore, this summer, large-scale initiatives are being made in both regions and municipalities together with Arbetsförmedlingen to ensure that people take the chance to try and see what enormous opportunities there are in, for example, Norrbotten and Västerbotten or, for that matter, other parts of Sweden.

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Kalle Olsson (S)

Madam Speaker! The difference between men's and women's pensions is rooted in working life. Women work part-time more and earn less, and this has a major impact on their pensions. Women have, on average, 20 percent lower general pension than men; that is the so-called pension gap.

The differences in income begin often in connection with the birth of the first child. At that point, something tangible happens in many relationships. Women take the predominant share of both parental leave days and temporary parental leave days.

The parental insurance is a crown jewel in the social insurance system, but we need to see what the imbalance of parental leave between men and women does to women's incomes, career opportunities, and ultimately pensions.

My question to Minister Brandberg is what measures the government intends to take to reduce the pension gap.

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! The most important thing we can do to reduce the pension gap is to take a holistic approach to life incomes. I can experience that when we talk about economic equality, which is a very important and central equality issue, we look rather narrowly at the wage issue.

When parents sit at the kitchen table and are about to decide who will take parental leave, they often look at how it affects the family's finances right then and there. I experience that there is a great lack of knowledge about putting the puzzle together regarding the entire life income and how each party's income throughout life is affected.

The Government is working on several fronts to focus on this issue, including by inviting different actors to round-table discussions in order to subsequently be able to move forward with measures. Focusing on this is, of course, what will have the greatest impact when it comes to equal pensions.

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Carina Ståhl Herrstedt (SD)

Madam Speaker! Companies within personal assistance that have had their permits revoked continue to conduct operations by exploiting loopholes in the law. They do this by instead calling themselves administrative companies, as no permit is required for that. Assistance recipients thus become their own providers on paper and purchase administrative help from the companies.

The permit requirement is an important tool in the work to stop unserious and outright criminal individuals from exploiting assistance users and the assistance allowance. The healthcare providers, with several, argue that everyone, even those who arrange their own assistance, should be covered by the permit requirement.

That those who arrange their own assistance today are exempt from the permit requirement thus facilitates things for criminal and unscrupulous actors. It is a situation that worries me. Does it also worry the Minister for Social Affairs, and does she intend to act in some way?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! This is an issue that also concerns me. Personal assistance is incredibly important. It is a freedom reform that we safeguard. It should also be emphasized that for the vast majority, the assistance works well. The vast majority of providers behave very well. But the assistance allowance is at the same time one of the benefits where there are the greatest problems with incorrect payments and systematic crime. This applies, for example, to the administrative companies that the member raised, but the problems are unfortunately much larger than that. Therefore, the government has tasked Försäkringskassan with analyzing the development of, for example, own employers within the assistance allowance. This has been reported and is currently being prepared.

In order to preserve the legitimacy of this extremely important reform, the government will return in the near future with further measures that need to be taken to address the issues.

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Isabell Mixter (V)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Johan Pehrson.

The management of Sundsvall Hospital pleads with the public not to get hurt this summer and simultaneously announces that they will not be able to maintain patient safety. Doctors at the hospital say that they will need to triage between patients and that people will die.

From and including June, the health centers in Sundsvall will only be able to provide acute and necessary care. Region Västernorrland is approaching a deficit of 1 billion. This can be put into relation to their revenues, which are 11 billion.

The government has actively chosen to prioritize lower taxes and rutavdrag over healthcare. Kristersson's promise that no one would be laid off has been taken back. This is not acceptable! The residents of Västernorrland will have to pay with their lives and their health. I wonder when the government will act to prevent this healthcare catastrophe.

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! It is very strained in many regions. There is a labor market policy conflict ongoing, which I cannot comment on. However, I can comment that the government last year, but also this year in the supplementary budget, has injected first 3 billion and then 6 billion to ease the difficult situation that is temporarily present in many regions. It is due, among other things, to pension adjustments which in turn are due to the enormously high inflation in our country. It hits welfare, companies, and jobs. All of us as individuals notice that the money does not go as far.

If we are to improve the situation for Swedish healthcare in the long term, the way forward is by combating inflation. But we have not left the regions in the lurch. We have added to them so that they can manage a very difficult situation during the current year. The regions, however, have full taxing rights and hold full responsibility for healthcare, with the support of our state grants.

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Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Madam Speaker! Yesterday I visited SM in Ung Företagsamhet. There, 800 of Sweden's young entrepreneurs were gathered in one place. It was a fantastic group of creative and driven young people who, during their high school years, have had the opportunity to try running companies. Several of them already had plans to convert them into limited companies after their high school years.

In total in Sweden, almost 40,000 young people have been given this opportunity during the past school year. They have collectively run 12,000 UF companies, but it could be many more. This concerns both education and the labor market, but my question is directed to Minister Johan Pehrson because I noted that he was also present at the UF fair yesterday. What initiatives does the government intend to take so that more young people – not least in the practical programs – shall be given the opportunity to run UF companies during their upper secondary school years?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! It is fantastic to see these young bundles of energy who have the future ahead of them. It is such young people who will ensure that they carry forward the future's Sweden with creative ideas. Ung Företagsamhet carries out very important activities.

Many people in this country live under the misconception that money comes from somewhere other than by educating oneself, working in a company or in the public sector or - which is also important - running a company. This is therefore a fantastic way to test out the idea of how one could develop as an entrepreneur. It is very important. But it is also impossible to avoid the fact that if one is to be a successful entrepreneur, the results in Swedish schools must be improved. Otherwise, we will only get half-hearted entrepreneurs. One cannot be an entrepreneur without knowledge. Therefore, the focus is, once again, on the school.

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Annika Hirvonen (MP)

Madam Speaker! The fate of nine-year-old Lisa has touched tens of thousands of Swedes. Lisa, who has her roots in Albania, is now living in uncertainty. Will she be separated from her new guardians in Järpås and her new family, where she feels safe, and be deported to end up in a children's home in Albania?

The issue of children who have been taken into care and placed in foster homes in Sweden but are then deported, with their parents or in the worst case to end up in children's homes, needs to be highlighted politically. The legislation sets these children's rights aside. Migration legislation trumps these children's rights, and it completely ignores that it was once assessed that their best interest actually is to stay with the new family. What does the government intend to do?

I think that Camilla Waltersson Grönvall would like to answer the question because, as Social Minister, she is responsible for the issue of children placed in foster homes.

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! I take the question. We who follow this very tragic case, involving this very young woman, naturally feel extensive pain regarding the situation she finds herself in. Wherever I turn in the world, I see children who are suffering. It also happens in Sweden.

We have a portal paragraph in Swedish migration legislation which says that we shall also consider the best interests of the child. When it is expressed in practical action, one does not always really feel that this is completely crystal clear. It is, however, very difficult for me as a minister to act in individual cases. This and all other practice cases, however, form the basis for the debate being held, not least in the Swedish Riksdag, on whether we should change and improve the current migration legislation or leave it as it is. But we unfortunately cannot, from the government's side, make changes in an individual case.

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Johan Hultberg (M)

Madam Speaker! The state's institutional board is constantly the subject of debate and attention, and with all justification. The problems and deficiencies within Sis are, unfortunately, serious and have been so for many years.

I now want to specifically highlight the security deficiencies, which cannot only be blamed on Sis but also involve inadequate legislation. Therefore, I am very pleased that the Moderate-led government, as soon as it took office, rolled up its sleeves and started the work with several important legislative changes. Just two weeks ago, new legislation came into force, which provides better opportunities to restrict the use of the internet and mobile phones within Sis. This is very important to ensure that gang criminals cannot continue their criminal activities or even plan their own escapes.

I know that the Minister for Social Affairs is working on further measures. Not least, the government is working on the establishment of youth prisons, but they are also looking at other measures, including the possibility of locking rooms within Sis. Could the Minister for Social Affairs describe how the work with this legislation is progressing and what effects she believes and hopes that this and the recently implemented legislative change can have for security within Sis?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you very much, Member Hultberg, for the question! Until May 15 this year, it was fully possible for young people within Sis to order drugs and weapons and, through contact with the outside world and with criminal networks, not only arrange pardons and escapes but actually also manage and recruit from inside the Sis homes. If one is in the care of society, one has the right to feel safety and security. There, weapons, drugs, or anything of the sort do not belong.

We are also working further on additional legislation. It concerns entry controls to be able to ensure who is there and visiting. It concerns room and body searches to be able to keep these institutions secure. And it concerns being able to lock the institutions with the absolute highest security classification at night, which has not been possible before. This legislation will come after the summer.

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Gudrun Brunegård (KD)

Madam Speaker! A child who is subjected to a sexual offense is a very vulnerable person. Furthermore, the abuse is not infrequently photographed or filmed and posted on the internet. In this way, the abuse is repeated again and again, perhaps for the rest of the child's life, every time someone looks at the image or the film clip.

With today's social media apps, adults can pretend to be children to appear as someone other than who they really are in order to lure a child and trick them to a meeting place to commit a crime against the child. But in the current situation, the police cannot use crime provocation to expose such persons. My question is therefore what measures the government is taking to refine and develop the methods for catching persons who, on false premises, trick children to commit crimes.

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! The Government takes these issues extremely seriously. These are crimes that can destroy the lives of young people for all time and which simply continue if the images remain. Accessing the grossly criminal individuals who commit these crimes is therefore highly important.

The government has now initiated work to find the line between evidence and crime provocation. The state should not, of course, urge people to commit crimes, but it becomes an academic difference at the interface. I do not know which words one is allowed to use here, Madam Speaker, but these scum, creeps, vile criminals - now I said a few; you may strike them out if they do not fit in the minutes - engage in this continuously and do not care about any other human being. Therefore, we are looking at whether this could be possible in order to reach these types of very serious crimes, not least abuse against children.

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Björn Wiechel (S)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister Wykman and concerns the need for statistics on household assets and debts. It is a question that the Minister has received several times. It is about the fact that we in Sweden today lack important knowledge, necessary facts, and a basis to be able to conduct an effective and accurate policy - both in the Riksdag and at the Riksbank - in order to maintain stability.

Already one and a half years ago, an investigation was submitted on how we can produce this statistics, with protection for personal privacy. But since then, nothing has happened. The Government has done nothing, even though the Riksbank, the Fiscal Policy Council, the Financial Supervisory Authority and even the IMF repeatedly request that this statistics be put in place so that the policy can better fulfill its mandate.

When the Minister of State is asked questions about this, instead of answering, he has chosen to come with long strings of rhetorical counter-questions without explaining the government's policy. Therefore, I ask the Minister for Finance: What is the government's position? Do you share all these agencies' and institutions' view that this statistics is needed to provide a complete picture?

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! The Social Democrats' great commitment to collecting a very large amount of information about the Swedish people has hardly escaped anyone's notice, as Björn Wiechel himself points out in his question.

The government's position is very clear and distinct. It is clear that Swedish authorities should have good decision-making bases. In Sweden, we are to have good and secure information. But the step from there to collecting millions of data points, or all information about everyone, always, is very far.

Since then, I am well aware of the demand that exists from some financial actors and from those who want to design new types of taxes – property taxes and wealth taxes, among others. But from having good statistics to always collecting all the information about everyone, the step is long.

Madam Speaker! Given what we now know about how vulnerable we are to intrusions and other such things, one can of course question the wisdom of having super-registers over all households.

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Bo Broman (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to the Minister for Finance. Customs seizes, largely on a daily basis, large sums of cash that are heading out of the country, cash that exclusively originates from the black market and which has not been taxed here in Sweden.

The Customs Service now, thanks to the Tidö Agreement, receives expanded resources to perform more controls. But it is also important that the work against the black market and money laundering is prioritized by the government and that we address the handling of the black money already at the source.

Despite the increased resources to the Customs, the problem with the illegal export of cash remains. This activity undermines our economy and evades taxation. Therefore, it is crucial that we also focus on preventing black money from being generated from the start. This means that we must have effective measures and strategies in place to combat money laundering and the black market.

Does the Minister for Finance intend to take any further measures against money laundering and the export of cash – if so, which ones?

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Bo Broman, for the question! Combating the criminal economy is at the very top of the government's agenda. I can mention some examples of what is being done to combat the criminal economy and combat money laundering.

It concerns, among other things, the work being carried out regarding hawala. It is an ongoing effort to ensure that there is a permit requirement for that activity. There is also an investigation into criminalizing the operation of hawala without a permit, i.e., that type of illegal activity. Within that lies a large part of the basis for what are money flows across borders.

We have recently tasked the Financial Supervisory Authority to describe and develop how they conduct their supervisory work when it comes to money laundering. A number of different agency assignments have been rolled out to the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority and others to tighten the grip on the various sources surrounding money laundering. A very intensive and broad work is underway.

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Ciczie Weidby (V)

Madam Speaker! A few weeks ago, Dagens Arbete was able to reveal that Tesla has flown in strikebreakers to its workshops. At that time, I submitted a written question to Minister Paulina Brandberg. I asked if she intended to take any measures to counteract the use of posted workers as strikebreakers.

The answer I received from Brandberg was that one supports the Swedish model and the possibility for posted workers to work in Sweden and sign collective agreements. But the entire Tesla conflict is about the lack of precisely collective agreements.

Then my question to Paulina Brandberg is: Is it the intention that one should be able to use seconded labor as strikebreakers?

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the question! We have all noted that a conflict is ongoing, the Tesla conflict. Regarding that conflict, the Mediation Institute has appointed a mediator who remains at the parties' disposal. Of course, we from the government's side are following this situation closely, and it is clear that on a general level we look at what are the triggering factors when different forms of strikes and unrest occur on the Swedish labor market. But a specific conflict is not a matter for the government to handle, but it is a matter for the involved parties.

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Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Madam Speaker! Human trafficking is the organized crime that is growing the fastest. Approximately 75 percent of the victims of human trafficking in the EU are women and girls. In the majority of these cases, it concerns sexual purposes. The majority of these victims – for it is victims we are talking about – have not been identified by Swedish authorities. This means that they also do not have their rights as crime victims met.

An important role in strengthening the work against human trafficking has for many years been held by the ambassador against human trafficking. This role was established in 2006. The ambassador has been replaced a few times since then. But for the last three months, that role has been vacant.

My question to Minister Brandberg is: Does the government intend to re-appoint the role of ambassador against human trafficking, or is there a government decision that the role shall cease?

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for an incredibly important question! Human trafficking is a poison in our society. We see how this affects people who are exploited in prostitution for sexual purposes. We also see human trafficking in the Swedish labor market.

We have a great deal of facts on the table showing that this is a widespread problem. At the same time, there is an incredibly large impunity for this type of crime. It is obvious that we need to work in other ways and that we need to prioritize the work against human trafficking.

The specific question concerns an ambassador against human trafficking. It is a very important function; I completely share that view. The Government will, in the near future, return with a decision regarding how we will continue to work with this issue.

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Emma Ahlström Köster (M)

Madam Speaker! At the beginning of May, it was revealed that gang criminals have infiltrated the police. That type of infiltration in our authorities is, of course, completely devastating. I know that the government has truly stepped up the work against that type of crime.

The work to strengthen the fight against money laundering and match-fixing is another area where the government has decided to do more to prevent the risk of infiltration. But what is it that the government has done so far, and in what way will it strengthen the credibility of the authority? What does one want to do more to prevent economic crime when it comes to money laundering and match-fixing going forward?

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank you for the question. The work against money laundering is central. The more one tightens other systems, for example in banks, the more people may try to use other types of services where they can store or move money to launder it, for example in the gambling market. Therefore, we have equipped Finansinspektionen with more resources and Spelinspektionen with more resources. We have also given them a joint mandate to work against this type of crime.

We have also taken the measures required for Sweden to be able to sign the Macolin Convention at an international level and for the Swedish Gambling Authority to receive the resources required to be the hub required in that work.

It is some examples of the broad work that is ongoing to tackle money laundering.

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Yusuf Aydin (KD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to the Minister for Finance. It is a question that we Christian Democrats have raised on several occasions. It concerns serious crime against the elderly. Criminals exploit the banks' digital services in a cynical and ruthless way to deceive the elderly and other vulnerable and exposed people, sometimes taking their entire life savings. It hits many people very hard. It has also been a very extensive and growing problem.

Not so long ago, the Bank Association presented a number of measures to address and prevent this. My question to the government is: What is the government's assessment of the presented measures, and how does it intend to proceed to prevent this crime that affects our elderly?

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! The frauds occurring in society, which are primarily directed at the elderly but many times also at other groups who are in a weak or vulnerable situation, are morally reprehensible and appalling. This must be combated with the full force of society.

This was one of the issues that we began working on early on. Among other things, I and the Minister for Justice met with the industry and many affected actors. More should have been done earlier in Sweden regarding this. One was not part of the development that existed.

At the core, two things have happened: Banks have withdrawn in many and many ways. Instead of physical meetings at bank offices, one now only has digital contact. There has also been an enormous digitalization of society. This has not been replaced by anything.

Now we have pushed the banks forward. They have presented a package for how to re-establish control, order, and decency and provide products that are safe and secure. The government must follow and evaluate this carefully. If that is not sufficient, we will return with sharp proposals.

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Patrik Lundqvist (S)

Madam Speaker! Today, we have discussed openness and transparency in Swedish democracy.

We in the Committee on Employment and Labour are currently working on the new allowance, which will be income-based. During this work, we have had very difficulty obtaining the calculation bases and other things that the government has used to develop the proposal. This means that our role as opposition parties becomes limited.

It is an important principle in a democracy that both the majority and the opposition should work under good conditions and be open and transparent towards each other so that the result of our democratic processes becomes as good as possible.

According to the government, the proposal is cost-neutral. But according to what RUT, the Riksdag's investigation service, has nevertheless managed to obtain, it will result in a saving of 1.5 billion. However, we cannot really verify this because we are not granted access to the data.

Why has the government acted this way, Johan Pehrson, and what will you do so that we can have a sensible political discussion on the issue moving forward?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! The new act is a product of the investigation commissioned by the Social Democratic government. It has been prepared over a long period, and there are amounts of referral responses that support the bill. The empirical evidence from other countries also supports this. There is also broad support in Swedish research that this model is wise.

The model implies a gradual tapering but a higher ceiling and a higher floor if one then enters the guarantees. It is also a model of funds that ensures more people are included in this important protection. But there will be a difference depending on whether one is in the fund or not, and as a result, it becomes a support to be in the fund in order to receive a higher compensation.

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Ann-Christine Frohm (SD)

Madam Speaker! The Swedish labor market sets high requirements for education and knowledge levels. Foreign-born individuals generally have a lower level of education than those born in Sweden, and a large proportion of them therefore do not succeed in the competition for jobs.

Thanks to my party, we have succeeded in reducing the influx of individuals to our country, which facilitates things. But there is still much left to do. Of the people who, for example, are currently in the establishment process, almost half lack both primary and secondary school competence. After nine to eleven years in Sweden, the employment rate is only 46.5 percent for foreign-born individuals with pre-secondary education. And then, it is not necessarily a job that constitutes the employment. It is no great credit to previous governments.

I therefore want to ask Minister Pehrson: How are these people to be able to make themselves available to the Swedish labor market and contribute to our welfare in a reasonable timeframe instead of burdening it?

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Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)

Madam Speaker! It is incredibly important for people who are adults and healthy to be given an opportunity for self-sufficiency. It is crucial for the individual's opportunity for self-determination and for being able to realize small and large dreams.

The way there, if one has poor or non-existent Swedish skills, is to read Swedish. There is no other way. The prerequisites are different, because we are different individuals. If one has difficulty, one must work harder than if one has it easy. We know that there is a great variation when it comes to how long it takes until one has learned Swedish if one has come to Sweden. The same applies if one lacks other basic education.

The path there also goes through help and support. That is why we have access to subsidized employment. There are different possibilities to utilize actors outside of Arbetsförmedlingen so that it will be easier to equip and match individuals to achieve self-sufficiency.

As the member says, we have also reformed the labor immigration framework. Labor immigration is very good when it comes to qualified and, above all, highly qualified jobs.

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Amanda Palmstierna (MP)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to the Minister for Finance.

Recently, a review was published by the newspaper Aktuell Hållbarhet. In that review, they had looked at the banks' sustainability reports, and the review shows that the banks continue to invest in fossil fuels all the time. At the same time, the banks say that they have achieved their climate goals.

The emissions from two Swedish banks correspond to more than Sweden's total emissions over one year. If we expand this to a European perspective, we see that European banks lent out 30 billion euros to fossil projects over one year. This is completely insane. Miljöpartiet believes that the EU should ban such fossil investments and that the money should instead be able to go towards the just green climate transition.

My question to the Minister for Finance is: Will the Minister act to stop these extensive fossil subsidies?

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Statsrådet Niklas Wykman (M)

Madam Speaker! This is a question that needs to be thought through carefully. If one, for example, shuts down functioning nuclear power in Europe but retains the same energy needs, it has been seen that credits were needed to build, for example, coal power. The credit market reflects what one does broadly and largely in politics.

Madam Speaker! There are also other dimensions to this. Is the entire society carbon-free? No, it is not. There is an ambition that it should become so. Should no one who emits be able to receive credits in the meantime? What would happen if one really took it seriously so that people could not get loans to buy a car or anything else?

The second question is that there is both that which is already green and that which can become green. Should one not be allowed to lend money to that which is in a transition phase, which emits today but will not tomorrow? Should it only be okay to lend to that which is already emission-free, or should one also be allowed to lend to that which can become emission-free but cannot become so without investments? This needs to be complicated a bit.

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Niklas Karlsson (S)

Madam Speaker! I turn to Minister Brandberg. On July 7, 2022, the Social Democratic government commissioned an inquiry concerning exit programs for persons who are subjected to prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes. Last year, the inquiry was completed, and the problem picture is clear.

From a Social Democratic perspective, we have on numerous occasions, in both interpellation debates and written questions, alerted the government that this is an issue that must be prioritized. In the answers we have received, the government has also expressed that it is so. Nevertheless, it has mostly been words and less action.

I would therefore like to ask Minister Brandberg: What does the government think about the issue? And what does the government want to do about it?

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for an important question. There are two investigations on this; there are exit programs for persons who are in prostitution and human trafficking and exit programs for those who are exploited in pornography. It is very important that we look at the vulnerability that exists and how we can improve the support for precisely these persons.

I have received a report, and I think there is much of interest in it. As usual, we will not precede the preparation taking place within the Government Offices. But I can be clear in saying that it is a priority from the government's side to truly strengthen the protection for this group, which is one of our society's most vulnerable groups.

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Ulf Lindholm (SD)

Madam Speaker! The EU's free movement and posted workers have had and continue to have a major impact on large parts of the Swedish labor market. But it has not only been in a positive sense, but it has also contributed to creating wage dumping, displacement effects, and increased crime in the working life.

In 2017, the then government, with the support of the Sverigedemokraterna, pushed through stricter rules regarding support measures linked to lex Laval. It was a necessary measure.

Today we can see that free movement continues to create problems. Therefore, I direct my question to Minister for Employment Johan Pehrson. Does the Minister for Employment and the government intend to review further tightenings and regulations so that Swedish jobs primarily go to Swedish wage earners?

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! I assess that the question falls within my area of responsibility, and I can therefore answer the question.

It is a major problem that there is great disorder on the labor market. Labor-related crime is spreading where, in many cases, foreign labor is used in ways it is not intended to be used. This ultimately leads to the exploitation of people and unhealthy competition on the Swedish labor market.

The government is taking several measures to address the problems that have a strong connection to crime in the labor market. A delegation is looking at issues linked to certain industries that are particularly vulnerable to labor market crime, and they are looking at what tools are needed to work with those industries. The construction industry, where there are widespread problems, can be mentioned as an example.

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Adrian Magnusson (S)

Madam Speaker! On Monday, a 25-year-old died at a construction site in Hyllie in Malmö. He fell 30 meters down from a construction scaffold and killed himself. It was the twentieth fatal fall on the Swedish labor market this year and the fifth within construction and civil engineering. That is, in large terms, one person a week who dies at their job in Sweden in the year 2024.

The patterns in Malmö are the same as before. There are large construction companies without their own employees, masses of subcontractors and safety representatives who are not given the conditions to fulfill their mission. There is much the government can do to ensure that construction workers and others will be able to meet their families in the evening again. Our initiative for a crisis commission within the construction industry was voted down by the government parties and Sverigedemokraterna, and not much else has come from the government since then.

A 25-year-old man fell 30 meters down from a scaffold. It is horrific. We do not need more statements of this, what we need is action. What is the government doing so that people do not die at work?

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the question.

It is a great tragedy every time a person in Sweden goes to work and then does not come home again. We must see every such tragedy as the tragedy it is and, of course, take concrete measures. Last year was a grim year with 65 people who went to work without coming home.

Before the government received the dark statistics last year, we had taken several measures to get more local safety representatives in the workplaces. We also quickly redirected Arbetsmiljöverket's mandate to carry out more unannounced and physical inspections.

The government has also had several meetings with the parties in the labor market, and we have met with the employers' organizations and the employees' organizations to see what we can do together, what they can do, and what the government can do moving forward. We will return with more measures.

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Michael Rubbestad (SD)

Madam Speaker! Several countries around Europe have introduced bans on wearing a full-face Muslim veil - burka and niqab. The Muslim veil symbolizes the woman's subordination to the man, and around the world, women are murdered if they refuse to wear the veil.

At the same time, we see that these women-oppressing garments are entering the public sector and authorities and thereby becoming part of the public Sweden. In Västerbotten, for example, the region has decided to purchase veils for healthcare staff. This means that our tax funds promote women's oppression instead of strengthening healthcare.

Given that the European Court of Justice has recently ruled that there are no obstacles, I wonder if Minister Paulina Brandberg can consider working towards a ban on the valuation-based veil within the public sector even in Sweden.

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Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for an important question.

I share the member's view that it is a huge problem that many women and girls are forced to wear a veil against their will. This is, of course, part of the honor oppression that we see spreading all too clearly in Sweden.

From the government's side, we take the issue most seriously. We are taking many measures to address honor-related violence and oppression. It is important that the measures we take hit the core, that is, those who impose veils on others. We do not want to punish those who are forced to wear a veil. What the government is doing, among other things, is to investigate how we can expand the criminalization regarding illegal coercion to reach those who force others to wear a veil. We will, of course, continue to work on this very important issue.

Question time was hereby concluded.

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