Nordic cooperation including the Arctic

Alexandra Anstrell (M)

Madam Speaker! "Yes, I want to live, I want to die in the Nordics" was sung yesterday with pride and joy all around in our beautiful country - joy over being Swedish, over being a part of the Nordics. In any case, I am happy about that. I would say that our Nordic cooperation in general is good, but things can of course always be improved. Three parts that I intended to dwell on are Nato in the entire Nordic region, infrastructure and the Arctic.

An important part for us will be to cooperate within Nato. The Nordic Council has, for example, highlighted the importance of a ministerial council for infrastructure, and the Foreign Affairs Committee has highlighted the importance of the work regarding the Arctic.

Madam Speaker! When it comes to Nato in the whole of the Nordics, we Moderates have for a long time advocated that Sweden should join the defense alliance Nato in order to defend ourselves together with our democratically minded friends in Europe. Now that the war has come to Europe, so close to us again, it has turned out to be a good idea.

We need to cooperate with our like-minded neighbors. Sweden and Finland have today close cooperation with each other and with the other Nordic countries through Nordefco and Pesco but also via trilateral operational cooperation within delimited areas such as the Nordkalotten.

With Sweden and Finland as members of Nato, all Nordic countries will, for the first time in 500 years, be part of the same defense alliance. This creates conditions to bind the Nordic countries even closer together but also to militarily unite our region. It is however important not to get stuck in thoughts of a Nordic bloc within the alliance. Nordic visions and objectives need to be anchored in larger groups such as the Northern Group and NB8.

Madam Speaker! Regarding infrastructure, good communications are important for growth and prosperity. That type of investment is also very long-term, which is why cooperation and coordination is a strength.

From a parliamentary perspective in the Nordic Council, a strong desire has been expressed across parties, blocs, and national borders for a Nordic ministerial council for transport, transport, and infrastructure issues. This is something that I warmly forward to our wise ministers for these issues. Regardless of how it is handled going forward, it will turn out well.

As global competition increases, great demands are placed on our ability to adapt and on a Nordic cooperation with a clear focus on innovation and competitiveness. A well-functioning Nordic infrastructure based on free movement is of great importance for our growth, not least in the border regions. This is important, also for our cooperation within the total defense.

Madam Speaker! The Arctic, this incredibly important issue, feels a bit tossed in here. As chairman of the Riksdag's Arctic delegation, I can say and think that Arctic issues should be given more space.

In a new geopolitical landscape that clearly leaves its mark on the Arctic, important questions about political leadership and cohesion are brought to the forefront. The Arctic parliamentary cooperation takes place within the framework of the Arctic Parliamentary Conference. The purpose of the parliamentary cooperation is to take initiative for broader cooperation on Arctic issues and that it shall function as a forum for debate and information exchange and constitute the parliamentary dimension for the Arctic Council.

The conditions for meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities in a changed Arctic are at the focus of the cooperation. Special emphasis is placed on climate change and the consequences for the sensitive Arctic environment, the region's economic development, a sustainable utilization of natural resources, the population's living conditions, and civil security in the region.

Research and education issues are also central issues. The Arctic region's increased geopolitical importance is reflected in the cooperation.

The permanent committee, Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, was formed in 1994. One of the main issues when the committee was formed was the establishment of a cooperation on the government side, and the Arctic Council was established in 1996. Standing Committee actively supports the Arctic Council's work and participates in the Council's meetings in the capacity of an observer.

The committee maintains the work, executes the decisions between the Arctic parliamentary conferences, and prepares the next conference. It also works to promote Arctic cooperation at both national and international levels. Representatives for the indigenous peoples, who have the status of permanent participants, as well as observers, including the Nordic Council and the West Nordic Council which have a special role, also participate there.

I had the privilege of participating in my first meeting, hosted by the USA, in April in Washington. The meeting was extremely interesting and important for Sweden and the Nordic countries. I took the opportunity to raise issues such as the business sector in the north and the importance of more countries helping in the Arctic even if they are not an Arctic country, as well as some security issues.

I also raised the importance of cooperation at the interparliamentary conference on foreign, security, and defense policy – the EU conference held in Sweden in March, the so-called Gusp conference.

Madam Speaker! In the northern parts of Sweden, significant investments are being made both within existing industries and in the form of new public establishments. Within the framework of the Arctic parliamentary cooperation, the Swedish delegation intends to highlight the good examples from Sweden when it comes to making it possible to live and work in the Arctic region.

Arctic cooperation has long been about minority issues and climate. These issues are naturally still important to work on, but the problem for the Arctic is that much of what affects the Arctic lies outside the area but still has a great impact, especially when it comes to the climate.

Everyone needs to help out in these issues, even if one is not an Arctic country. Here we all need to be involved and influence our colleagues around the world. Rising temperatures will affect us all in one way or another, not least when water levels rise.

In addition to civil security issues, we have security policy issues, which until now have not been addressed within the framework of the cooperation. But against the background of the deteriorated security situation and the region's increased geopolitical importance, the Swedish delegation nevertheless intends to raise the question of how security policy issues shall be handled within the framework of the cooperation, especially with regard to the importance of safeguarding international law and security policy issues and the connection between civil and military security.

The Riksdag is hosting the next Arctic parliamentary conference, which will be held next year, 2024. We in the Swedish delegation have initiated the planning for the conference and are aiming for March 2024, when we hope for a large participation and a wide dissemination of Arctic issues. The Swedish delegation for the Arctic also intends to organize a couple of knowledge-enhancing, knowledge-disseminating, and important seminars in the Riksdag starting this autumn. We believe that we need to take these issues more into account.

The questions regarding the Arctic need to achieve greater reach. Here we can all help each other.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker! The mysticism, the special light, and the darkness, up here in the north, the greenery, the water, the culture, the welfare, the democracy and the cooperation. That is the Nordic.

Our Nordic cooperation is unique. We have one of the oldest and most extensive regional cooperations in the entire world. It rests on a solid foundation of shared history, common values, cultural heritage, geographical proximity, linguistic understanding, and strong economic ties.

We have had open borders, free movement and an integrated labor market for 70 years. And our cooperation is guided by a common vision adopted by the Nordic prime ministers in 2019. The vision states that the Nordic region shall be the world's most sustainable and integrated region in 2030.

I am glad that our current government, with both Ulf Kristersson and our Nordic Minister Jessika Roswall, has said that the vision remains firm.

Cooperation in the Nordic Council has historically had a focus on issues concerning culture, the labor market, welfare, and climate. But after the pandemic and now during Russia's illegal war of aggression in Ukraine, issues of civil preparedness, security, and defense have gained increasing space.

We Social Democrats welcome deepened cooperation also in these issues, not least in light of the NATO membership. But at the same time, we want to be mindful so that issues of welfare, climate, and culture continue to be prioritized and a hallmark of our Nordic cooperation.

During the pandemic, our Nordic family was tested severely. Closed borders and different choices of path made cooperation difficult. It has been particularly troublesome for those who live or work in the border areas. Their everyday lives were affected very noticeably. But it has also meant that it has become even clearer how important it is that we must tear down more border barriers and strengthen the Nordic community.

Madam Speaker! Russia's illegal war of aggression in Ukraine has united the democratic West, and Nordic cooperation is now stronger and more important than ever.

Our Nordic defense cooperation, Nordefco, continued to develop during the past year, and this year Sweden will host a round table discussion on the theme of security and defense. It will take place here in Stockholm in September.

We Social Democrats appreciate that the Nordic governments and the cooperation ministers have so clearly and jointly condemned the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The climate changes in the Arctic have contributed to an increased international interest in the region. The area is described as a security policy low-tension area.

With Sweden and Finland in Nato, all countries in the Nordic and the Baltics will share the same security platform. A Swedish Nato membership will mean a unified approach to defense planning and security in Northern Europe. During the past year, cooperation regarding the Arctic was also characterized by the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

We want to continue to promote a peaceful, stable and sustainable development and contribute to a constructive international cooperation in the Arctic region.

Madam Speaker! As part of the vision work, many initiatives are now being undertaken for a greener Norden and for a responsible climate policy. This is good and important. One example is the Nordic ecolabel Svanen, which during the year has continued to develop criteria for good climate choices.

I also want to emphasize that our labor market and the economic development in the Nordic region depend on us taking the lead in the green transition.

Ulf Kristersson's government has said that the vision of becoming the world's most sustainable and integrated region remains firm. We think that is good. But at the same time, the Swedish government must now take full responsibility for realizing it. This applies to both the green transition and to tearing down more border barriers.

As the previous speaker said, we in the Nordic Council have, across party lines and national borders, expressed a strong desire for a Nordic ministerial council for transport, transport, and infrastructure issues. Here, we Social Democrats in the Nordic Council want to remind that good communications are also important for growth and prosperity.

Madam Speaker! Nordic cultural cooperation still stands strong. Culture plays a large and strong role in achieving the vision, and it binds us together in the Nordic region.

The Nordic Council's prizes in culture are only a small part of the Nordic cooperation. But they contribute to making the cooperation visible, drawing attention to it, and increasing interest in it. They are also important for increasing mutual understanding, and they strengthen the Nordic languages. Therefore, we view positively that the work to produce a new Nordic language declaration continues also during this year.

But it is with concern that we see how the Nordic culture and education budget is used as financing within other sectors. We believe that the government should not contribute to cuts that damage cooperation in the area of culture and education. Therefore, I move for approval of reservation 3 under point 2 on labor market, culture, education and integration.

Madam Speaker! In conclusion: I believe that with lessons from the crises and wars of recent years, we can further strengthen Nordic cooperation and that we can realize the prime ministers' vision of becoming the world's most sustainable and integrated region.

Next year, Sweden will take over the chairmanship of the ministerial council. We hope that the work will then be continued with concrete initiatives in the climate area and that more border barriers are removed. One such example is to make it possible to collect an e-prescription in the entire Nordic region. It is one of many member proposals.

As chair of the Swedish delegation, I would like to thank the members from all parties for their great commitment to Nordic affairs and high level of activity, but also for the consensus and respect that we have within our Swedish delegation in the Nordic Council. I would also like to thank State Secretary Jessika Roswall for her great commitment to Nordic affairs.

Madam Speaker! On behalf of the Social Democrats, I move for approval of reservation 3 under point 2 from the Centre Party and the Social Democrats on the labor market, culture, education and integration.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! I thank Heléne Björklund for her speech. I requested the floor to clarify one matter with the Social Democrats.

We all agree that Nordic cooperation is incredibly important, and it works well. But what also affects our work in Sweden and in the Nordic region is how we act in the EU Parliament.

Some time ago, I saw a report that Vote Watch has produced. I read it on the Europe Portal. They have analyzed over 280 votes in the European Parliament that have bearing on how actions have been taken towards Russia. There, we can read that the Social Democrats are the second most pro-Russia party. We can also read that the Sweden Democrats are the most anti-Russia party. It is only the Left Party that beats the Social Democrats in this analysis.

This analysis was started as early as 2019, i.e., before the war of invasion in Ukraine, and they have looked broadly at everything from disinformation and actions in Belarus, Georgia, and Kazakhstan and also the internal developments in Russia.

Given how one acts in the European Parliament and how closely the Nordic Council is linked to the work in the European Parliament, can we then trust that the Social Democrats will not act in the same way in precisely that Nordic cooperation, given how important it is that we jointly stand up to Russia for the Nordic cooperation and for our own best interests?

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Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank Member Bengtsson for the question. I hardly know how to express myself, but yes, one can trust the Social Democrats. And I believe that there are very many who do not agree with Member Bengtsson that the Social Democrats in this situation would be pro-Russia.

It may be true that different members and parliamentarians before the war have wanted to make efforts to support the Russian people, Russian culture, or Russian literature – or the aid and solidarity work that we have historically always been strong in. But no one should doubt that we condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that we do so strongly. I actually think it is quite petty to even bring this up when we have a debate about the Nordic cooperation.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! I may think it is relevant given how great an influence the EU has over Sweden and the Nordic cooperation.

My question back to the Social Democratic member is: What has been done then? I wonder what has been done to ensure that one does not make the same mistake, if one calls it that – that is how I interpret the answer. What has been done to ensure that the Nordic countries stay together and that Sweden stays together against precisely Russia's threat against us in the West?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank you once again for the question. I can guarantee Angelika Bengtsson that she does not need to doubt us Social Democrats.

If I were Sverigedemokraterna, I would however be very worried, because the question should probably be turned back: How do Sverigedemokraterna act? Most recently, during the last parliamentary term, it was a Sverigedemokratisk member in the Committee on Defence who was very questionable when it came to the Russian connections, and there have been many examples of this. I would therefore not want to raise that question to a socialdemokrat in this chamber. Now, however, it is done, and the answer is that no one needs to doubt the socialdemokratisk commitment against Russia's actions in these matters.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lorena Delgado Varas (V)

Madam Speaker! Nordic cooperation has great opportunities to be developed so that we can solve common problems and share solutions. We can also, however, push issues in a more international context. There is great potential here when it comes to climate solutions, energy issues, and social and legal issues.

As part of the Nordic cooperation, we have the opportunity to take the lead on a number of common issues and show the way for, among others, the EU. But for such a cooperation to work and be credible, it requires common decisions and concrete actions. We have a good cooperation, but it is absolutely not complete.

The border barrier issues are prioritized in the Nordic cooperation. The idea is that we should become the most cohesive region in the world. It should be easy to move between the countries, and it should be easy to move from one Nordic country to another without encountering administrative barriers. That cooperation cannot be taken for granted, and it must be consolidated.

We in Vänsterpartiet naturally share the view that the Nordic countries should be an integrated region, but it must also mean something in practice. Therefore, it is important that the government works to ensure that the borders between the Nordic countries remain open without border controls for Nordic citizens. We saw the consequences in 2015, and we saw the consequences during the pandemic.

We should strive for the goal that the Nordic region should be open so that we can live and work in different countries by commuting. In order to ensure this during a crisis, we need to further develop the tax system so that people are not double-taxed, and we need a systematic effort regarding cross-border commuters to protect their jobs and families when we are hit by crises.

Something we should continue to work on is a common Nordic preparedness effort. We have had crises, and unfortunately, more will come. The extreme weather conditions are becoming more frequent, as well as fires, floods, and so on. Here, we in Nordisk grön vänster have submitted proposals for common preparedness stocks, common vaccine production, and so on, which the parties have backed in the Nordic Council.

Madam Speaker! Nordic cooperation shall lead to a positive development also outside of the Nordic region. We can show the way in a number of issues. Most recently, the Nordic Council adopted an international strategy that addresses a number of issues common to the Nordic region. We should prioritize them in international cooperation, both between the countries and outside.

One such issue is women's rights, and there I specifically want to highlight the right to abortion. Unfortunately, steps are being taken backward, or at least the issue has stagnated on a global level. Even here in Sweden, voices are now beginning to be heard that question the right to abortion in its current form. To these individuals and organizations, I want to say that we will not go back in time. We will not return to times when women had to seek out illegal abortion activities or try to have abortions at home with their lives at stake. Here in the Nordic region, we should be the safe haven where we support organizations operating in other countries where abortion has been banned or never legalized.

Another important area is LGBTQ issues. Here, we also believe that we can influence neighboring countries, for example the Baltic states, through the Nordic Council. Today, joint conferences are organized on human trafficking, environmental issues, and energy issues. It would be positive if this exchange between the Nordic and the Baltic states also included issues regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics. It would be a great support for the LGBTQ movements and the feminist movements there.

Most recently, we from Nordisk grön vänster submitted a proposal regarding the reconstruction of Ukraine. There, we argue that we as Nordic countries should co-coordinate the support for Ukraine during the reconstruction, in order to achieve better support. This is something that all parties have supported.

Within the Nordic transport sector, we need to invest offensively so that the sustainable alternative to aviation is the train. We in Nordisk grön vänster want to see investments in high-speed trains and new tracks between the Nordic countries as soon as possible to facilitate rail travel within the Nordic region and out onto the European continent.

Such investments, however, take time, and therefore railway investments that make a difference in the near term are also needed. Better train connections between the cities of the Nordics were needed. We want, of course, primarily to connect the larger cities so that it becomes easy to move between them. With small adjustments of locomotives, carriages, and signaling systems, as well as coordinated timetables and ticketing systems, travel times can be significantly shortened and travel in the Nordics facilitated. The train must become the primary option for those traveling within the Nordics and even further out in Europe.

Interest in traveling by train has grown in a short time. It has increased steadily and continues to increase; today we even have the problem that people want to travel out to Europe on their holiday but that we do not have enough train transport. We need a unified Nordic policy, that is, a ministerial council for infrastructure and transport, to achieve increased Nordic rail travel.

I can agree with previous speakers that the Arctic needs more space. The Arctic is home to 4 million people, including 40 indigenous peoples - including Inuit, Sami, and Nenets. The Arctic is also home to many animals that are now in danger. Furthermore, the area keeps our world climate in balance. When the ice melts, global warming accelerates, and that is alarming. It is an area we must protect as a low-tension area, and that work must continue.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! "The Nordic region is fantastic. It is a clear region, but your respective countries still stand out." This thought has occupied my mind during the past week, as I have participated in a leadership program in Riga.

The Nordic region is not only an integrated region that we have proudly marketed, but we also have a long and unique history as independent countries. This distinguishes us from the Baltic countries, which celebrate as many years of freedom from the Soviet Union as I am old myself.

For many years we have worked with cooperation in the Nordic region, especially since the Second World War, when we realized that our strength lies in working together. This has led to concrete results such as a common passport union, the introduction of common environmental labels such as the Swan label and the Keyhole label, as well as a common convention against tax evasion. We have also created a common education market. These are just a few examples of what we have achieved through our cooperation.

Today we are the tenth strongest economic region in the world. Our common labor market, exchange of educational places and healthcare has tested us but above all has shown our cohesion. This became clear during 2018 when Sweden received help to extinguish the fires here and even more during the pandemic when we assisted each other with vaccines and protective equipment.

Against this background, we need to strengthen our cooperation with the Baltic countries. These three small countries in the east, which are closest to Russia, require that we intensify the cooperation. If we do not do so, Russia will fill that vacuum. History has clearly shown us this, especially when it comes to how Russia has attacked Ukraine without reservation. Therefore, I am proud that we in the Nordic region, together with the Baltic countries, have shown our solidary support for Ukraine through concrete actions and clear positions. This cannot be overemphasized.

Madam Speaker! In a time when our security is threatened, we need to unite and act together. That is exactly what our region is - a common region. I sincerely hope that in the future we can include the Baltics even more and, above all, more clearly in this cooperation. From a defense policy perspective, it is obvious that we need to intensify the cooperation. On the other side of Finland and the Baltics, we have, as I said, Russia.

But Sweden as a country also has much to prove to the Baltic countries on the day we become members of Nato. We in Sweden could have done more in the 40s; it was an action that will be forgotten late. Therefore, it is important that we show who we are and what values we stand up for in today's era when we once again have a war in Europe. A friendship is strengthened when one proves oneself. As a country, we have a part to prove, and we must not make the same mistake again.

Madam Speaker! From a security policy perspective, it is obvious that we also need to expand the cooperation. Our world around us is constantly changing, and we in the Nordic region must adapt to that development. We do this best by standing united and cooperating. A common border would have facilitated our work during the large refugee flows in 2015. A common crisis preparedness would have facilitated things during the fires in 2018 and during the pandemic, when Finland, for example, had plenty of protective equipment in stock while Sweden had fallen short in its preparedness and emptied its supplies.

There is a reservation in the Sweden Democrats' follow-up motion, reservation 9, which I would like to move for approval of.

The Sweden Democrats believe that more needs to be done in Sweden to strengthen Sweden's security and reach the level of the rest of the Nordic countries when it comes to preparedness and preparatory measures. This is particularly important today when our greatest threat is spelled security and comes from the neighboring country Russia. A unified strategy would generate a win for all of us, both in the Nordic countries and in the Baltics.

I also want to emphasize the importance of not forgetting the N5 cooperation between the Nordics and the Baltics, which was initiated a few years ago. It is of the utmost importance that this cooperation does not fall into oblivion but is instead intensified.

Madam Speaker! It is noticeable that today I am focusing heavily on the Nordic countries and the Baltics. This is due to the new and tense security situation we find ourselves in. We in the Nordic region can very well market ourselves as the world's most integrated region until 2030, but if we do not direct our attention toward our closest neighboring countries, we have nothing to gain. What do we gain from being a strong region if our small neighboring countries simultaneously lack the strength needed to defend themselves against the powerful neighbor in the east? What do we have to gain from a strong region if we cannot even cooperate with those who share our views and are closest to us?

The policy we pursue today must not make us naive. That is why I am proud to belong to the party that pursues the most Russia-critical policy in the EU Parliament. Even though the chamber is debating Norden today, Sweden is a part of Europe and the EU. Sweden's actions in the EU Parliament reflect the policy in Sweden – partly for good but mostly for ill, according to the Sverigedemokraterna. In the long run, this also affects the Nordic cooperation. Therefore, it becomes even more important that the cooperation is expanded and intensified in our region.

I look forward to a stronger cooperation here in Sweden for the Nordic countries and together with the Baltic countries.

(Applause)

In this speech, Staffan Eklöf and Ann-Christine From Utterstedt (both SD) concurred.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lorena Delgado Varas (V)

Madam Speaker! I want to hear from the member why the Sweden Democrats, among other things, did not want to include the right to abortion in the international strategy as one of the points that we want to prioritize when it comes to women's rights.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! The simple answer is that we consider this to be a national matter. To lengthen the answer, I can say that we do not see the right to abortion as being threatened in the Nordic countries.

I am convinced that we can do more, but this is a national matter. I do not see the right to abortion as threatened in the Nordic countries today. The Nordic countries agree that the right to abortion is important, and I see it as strong in the Nordic countries.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lorena Delgado Varas (V)

Madam Speaker! I want to remind the members that this is an international strategy concerning the cooperation that we Nordic countries shall have towards other assemblies, for example the EU, and cooperation that we have with, among others, the Baltic states.

It is not about what we drive nationally or at what level we drive it, but it is about the Nordic cooperation and the international strategy we put forward.

The government argues that the right to abortion is not threatened here in Sweden. However, we have recently seen journalists express that they want to threaten the right to abortion in Sweden. Just the other day, there were demonstrators at Sergels torg who argued that abortion is murder. These voices therefore also exist in Sweden, even if the Sverigedemokraterna may choose not to listen to them.

Again: Why does one not want to include the right to abortion in the international strategy? It is about supporting, for example, the women in Poland, who no longer have the right to abortion. Women there have also died because of this.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! We want to focus on and prioritize other things in the international strategy. Parties have different priority areas. The Left Party has, among other things, the abortion law, which is neither threatened in Sweden nor in the rest of the Nordic countries. There may be a small clique of people who think differently, but they are in the minority and far from gaining a majority.

We choose, as said, to focus on something else, namely an international strategy for a better integrated region when it comes to the labor market and healthcare - the healthcare where the abortions are performed. Here we choose to put our energy.

As politicians, one prioritizes different areas, and we prioritize what we consider to be more pressing.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Kjell-Arne Ottosson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Today's first speaker has already referred to our national anthem, and even when it was written in 1844, more than 100 years before the Nordic Council was formed, we were Nordicists. The question, however, is how deeply rooted Nordicism is among the general public, but that is another chapter.

Everyone here probably praises the Prime Minister's vision that the Nordic region shall become the world's most sustainable and integrated region by 2030. The question is whether we will reach there at the speed we have today. Last summer, my committee in the Nordic Council was at a summer meeting in Åland, and there the former Finnish minister Jan-Erik Enestam spoke. He was clear that with the current speed we will not reach the vision and that we must gear up.

How then shall we act so that the Nordic Council becomes a stronger force and more relevant? I believe we must focus on the issues that concern people's everyday lives. Last week, I was in Iceland for a few days at a meeting with the Border Obstacles Council. The cooperation ministers were also gathered there, including State Secretary Jessika Roswall, and the ministers were very pleased with the meeting. We also had a very constructive meeting with the Border Obstacles Council, and there are ways forward to ramp up the work of dismantling border obstacles, which is extremely important.

How are we to gear up on a political level? During the pandemic, our cooperation ministers strove, and I often boasted in the rostrum about Sweden's Social Democratic cooperation minister. She did a great job, but it stopped there. So how can our cooperation ministers get higher status and their work have more impact? It was only when foreign ministers and prime ministers came in that more happened. We have cooperation ministers who do a good job, but how are Jessika Roswall and her colleagues to get more mandate? It would be good to find a common Nordic solution to that.

I believe that one of the explanations is a lack of understanding, which I have mentioned in every chamber debate regarding the Nordic cooperation. We must gain a higher understanding of what it is like to live and operate in a border region. I fully understand that one does not understand this if one does not live and operate there. Of course, it depends on the geography, but on the land border to Norway and Finland, we live as if the border does not exist, which one must understand. For me, crossing the border to Norway is like for a Stockholmer to go from the eastern to the western side of Drottninggatan or from Helgeandsholmen to Gamla stan. It is just as natural. We live, as I said, as if the border does not exist.

Every time I swim at home, I swim over to Norway, because the border runs in the river. In Värmland, the residential house can be in Sweden but the outbuilding in Norway. That caused some issues during the war, but those who remember say it was easier to cross the border legally during the war than during the pandemic. A house can be in Sweden, but one must drive via Norway to get to the house. For some Norwegians, the nearest shop is in Sweden. During the forest fires in 2018, we received help from Europe. During the forest fire in my region, the reinforcement came first from Norway because it was closest.

One must understand how closely intertwined we are, and only when the great mass has understood that can we shift gears.

The work on transport has been mentioned earlier, and the Nordic Council has worked towards a transport minister council. The Nordic infrastructure ministers gathered in Fredrikstad, Norway, in November, and they adopted a declaration to take this work further. However, it must be strengthened even more, as mobility across the borders is absolutely crucial.

Madam Speaker! We heard earlier that the Nordic region is the world's tenth largest economy, which shows what power we have. But then we must obtain the tools needed so that we can utilize this power. At the same time, we must dare to ask the difficult questions and open Pandora's box.

It concerns, among other things, the Nordic tax treaty. I have understood from several finance ministers that it is something they dread. But the everyday issues are crucial, and what we hear most about is precisely tax on work and pension. Jobs, studies, mobility and social relations are undoubtedly very important, but now that it is no longer a crisis situation, the question returns that there is a lack of uniformity in taxation and that people feel unfairly treated. We must move forward here, and in my committee in the Nordic Council, we are working particularly on highlighting the tax treaty so that the Nordic countries can achieve greater uniformity and something that is perceived as more just.

Madam Speaker! In today's report, it states: "The committee notes that it is clarified in the mandate that the Border Obstacles Council shall, in times of crisis, contribute to a better knowledge base for more effective Nordic coordination regarding mobility issues by drawing the attention of governments, relevant ministerial councils, and sectors to problems that arise, as well as standing by to find solutions. The committee further notes that the connection to the political level has become clearer, which during the past year, among other things, led to several contacts between representatives of the Border Obstacles Council and the cooperation ministers. The committee continues to consider that the Nordic countries must have a dialogue before decisions are made to close borders and that the countries must also exhaust all other alternatives before borders are closed. The Nordic countries should jointly take responsibility for the consequences that a border closure entails, which is what Sweden has proposed in the so-called cooperation model."

It is all well and good, Madam Speaker, but we should indeed get to the point that we do not close any borders within the Nordic region. We shall be so tightly welded together that it is simply ruled out. That is where we must get to.

We are also currently reviewing the Helsinki Treaty, which is the Nordic Council's constitution. We may also be able to make progress in that matter to make us even more closely linked.

At the most recent meeting with the delegation here in Sweden, we were visited by the Nordic institutions. They had a calendar of when large, important, decisive events had occurred in Nordic cooperation. The most recent was in the 1970s. It is 50 years ago. It is truly time to gear up and move forward, Madam Speaker!

I vote in favor of the proposals in the report.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Catarina Deremar (C)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for approval of reservation number 2 in the Foreign Affairs Committee's report 5. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Social Democrats for their support for the Center Party's reservation number 3.

What could suit better, Madam Speaker, than to have a debate on Nordic and Arctic issues the day after Sweden's 500th anniversary? We have much in common with our Nordic neighboring countries, not least our long traditions of living in democracies, our popular movements, the free movement and freedom of movement. It is perhaps our greatest asset.

The Nordic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Helsinki Treaty mean that we have a proper and important platform for Nordic cooperation. It is also of great importance that we work to create Nordic benefit for all inhabitants in order to together meet future challenges in a better way. It became clear during the pandemic that there are many fragile threads in the cooperation. It is more fragile than I felt it was before the pandemic hit seriously.

Madam Speaker! In the summer of 2022, I took a trip to Norrbotten, and there I visited the border towns of Haparanda and Tornio. It became very tangible how the time with closed borders has affected people's everyday lives. There are several examples in other border areas. The speaker before me, Kjell-Arne Ottosson, also touched upon this. This needs to be reviewed through a joint Nordic investigation that evaluates how border obstacles can be countered and how closed borders in the Nordic region can be prevented.

Madam Speaker! In Vestlandet in Norway, one can visit Fjaler municipality, and there is United World College - an absolutely fantastic place on earth. I visited the school a few weeks ago together with my Norwegian parliamentary colleague Kathrine Kleveland. Youth come there from all over the world. Just this year, they are from 51 countries. The school has about 200 students. When it was started about 25 years ago, all Nordic countries took responsibility, not least Norway and Sweden. The school is built on our Nordic values, our Nordic heritage and the Nordic model.

Similar schools exist in about fifty places in the world. The first started in Wales. In Fjaler, 2,400 students have now graduated, and obviously, they will become good ambassadors for the Nordic countries. There is no doubt that all these students will work for a better world for us all.

Now, unfortunately, our Swedish government has decided that this is not worth investing money in. It is regrettable, and even though it is the Minister for Development Cooperation's area of responsibility, I am curious now that we have the Minister for Nordic Affairs in place. What is the reason for this? What could it be due to? I expect the government to rethink this. The vision is that the Nordic region should be the world's most integrated region, and therefore I believe it is to go in the opposite direction to withdraw these funds.

During 2019, the Nordic Council of Ministers agreed on the vision that the Nordic region should be the most integrated and climate-smart region in the world by 2030. It is a vision that commits. Both the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council, as well as individual members, must actively contribute to ensuring that these goals can become a reality.

As part of the vision work, many initiatives are being made for a greener Norden. This is good and important. At the same time, both the Swedish government and the Nordic Council of Ministers must fully take responsibility for the vision's promises regarding Nordic integration. Unfortunately, there are worrying tendencies that the culture and education sectors are being deprioritized. Therefore, it cannot be emphasized enough how important these sectors are for Norden to become the most integrated region.

Through cultural cooperation and by children and young people meeting across national borders, the bonds between our Nordic countries are strengthened in a very concrete way. Therefore, we in the Middle Group in the Nordic Council have also submitted proposals to develop cooperation for the development of young musical talents, for example. But it is, as said, worrying that it is often just education and culture that is tasked with financing development in other areas within the Nordic Council. That must be addressed. The countries must reflect on the financing as a whole when it comes to Nordic cooperation.

Madam Speaker! I believe in a developed cooperation with our Nordic neighbors. Several speakers have been here discussing the need for a ministerial council for transport issues to facilitate joint planning of infrastructure projects that would truly benefit the Nordic region. Unfortunately, the current government seems to have adopted the previous government's position, but together we must move forward in this matter.

Finally, Madam Speaker: Together we can be a strong voice for free democracies and Nordic values. This has proven to be important, not least given the experiences from the pandemic and in the current situation with war in our vicinity. Russia's unjust invasion of Ukraine means that we in the Nordic region will come even closer together. We will jointly need to help Ukraine for a long time to come, both in the ongoing war and the day when Ukraine is to be rebuilt. Many conversations are already taking place, and concrete work is being done to save, for example, cultural heritage. More needs to be coordinated here in the Nordic region so that we can utilize our resources jointly and do the greatest good.

Regarding the Arctic issues, I leave them to my colleague Anna Lasses.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Joar Forssell (L)

Madam Speaker! In these polarized times, I want - without joking - to say that it is wonderful to hear that we in this debate on Nordic cooperation on the Arctic are quite in agreement. I also think that it characterizes the cooperation in the Nordic region, and that is why it is such an incredibly strong platform.

Madam Speaker! Both the Speaker and I sit on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and travel a lot around the world. We get to see different cultures and meet people in different social contexts. We also get to meet politicians and power holders from different parts of the world.

Regardless of whether I land in Stockholm or Copenhagen when I come home, or if I have a layover in Finland or in Oslo, I always think that it feels like coming home. All of the Nordics feel like coming home. I believe that many share that feeling. We who live in these countries have a sense of belonging. It is a sense of belonging that also makes the politics aimed at bringing us closer together easier to implement. The sense of belonging makes our policy to link together, for example, the labor market or the business sector, quite simple to implement.

I believe there is strong popular support for a much deeper Nordic cooperation. That is what the Liberals work for. And I believe there is strong popular opposition to the opposite. I believe that many who encounter bureaucratic hurdles when they are to work, study, or engage in, for example, entrepreneurship in any of the other countries, think it is strange that there are any hurdles remaining at all. We are, in many ways, one and the same. We are linked value-wise and economically. This also applies to foreign policy and all parts that make it important to stick together.

Madam Speaker! Even in these contexts, we of course are happy to discuss environment and climate and food. Note that even though the climate issue is of course global, the consequences of climate change quite often hit locally and regionally. The emissions and the warming are of course global, but the consequences, for example drought, floods, forest fires and other things, are often local and regional.

With that type of problem, cooperation becomes extra important. It can be about extinguishing forest fires. It can also be about harvests being wiped out and that we must get food from somewhere else. There are good reasons to constantly ensure that those contexts become broader. The fact that we are many and become larger, that more become integrated with one another, creates resilience also when the situation is difficult.

Madam Speaker! When it comes to innovation, business, and for that matter the entire labor market - job creation - it is also a critical part to have many. Innovation cannot just be about Sweden being first. That is not how it works when it comes to innovation. Many people in different places try to solve similar problems, and the one who has come up with the best solution will get a successful company and entrepreneurship around that solution. That is innovation. One creates a solution to a problem that exists. It is benefited by that as many as possible, many different companies and entrepreneurs, innovative people - regardless of in which context one operates - try to solve the same problem and that the person who has come up with the best solution actually succeeds.

Competition is important, and it is important that those who have not come up with the best solution cannot continue but must do something else. But it is also important that the one who has come up with the best solution is given as large a market and as large an area as possible to spread it on. In that case, the Nordic cooperation, with less bureaucracy and with simplifications and so on, is incredibly important to create diversity.

Madam Speaker! Security policy cannot be bypassed. It is clearly the most important part of the deteriorated security situation we find ourselves in - I will also speak a little about the Arctic soon. Our large, almost neighbor in the east is at this moment a direct threat to both Sweden and all other Nordic countries. It is clear that the security policy responses that the Nordic countries can have together are incredibly important. It is only together we can build security, and it is only together we can ensure that the thresholds are raised so much that we do not see an attack against Sweden either.

Madam Speaker! The Arctic, which is also addressed in the report, is special. There we have our closest friends and our closest allies, of course the Nordic countries but for example also Canada. But in the Arctic there are also our worst enemies. In the Arctic there is Russia, which constitutes the greatest threat here and now against Sweden and against democracy. And in the Arctic there is China, which wants to take a larger role. They want to come in and are constantly trying to take resources and move forward the military positions in the area.

China is also probably the greatest threat to freedom and democracy in the world globally ever. China is the world's worst dictatorship and a country that does not shy away from any means to influence other countries. It is simply the greatest enemy against freedom and democracy. It is a country that one preferably should not have particularly much to do with at all. They are also pressing in the Arctic.

It is important that the Nordic countries stick together even in the Arctic cooperation and with others in the Arctic who share our values. But we must remember that the dynamics are special. We have both our closest friends and our worst enemies in the same part of the world.

Madam Speaker! We must also remember to safeguard the opportunities to live and work, to have businesses and to flourish in the Arctic. The view of what that part of the world looks like differs slightly between different countries. Someone from Canada imagines miles and miles with hardly any humans at all. But we do have cities in the Arctic. It is clear that this leads to somewhat different perspectives. I believe it is important that we, from the Swedish and Nordic side, safeguard the parts that are special to us. One should be able to live, reside and work and have a flourishing life also in the Arctic.

I vote in favor of the proposal in the report.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Emma Berginger (MP)

Madam Speaker! Nordic cooperation is more important than ever. When the world is restless and conflict-ridden, cooperation with countries where we find a commonality in terms of openness, democracy, equality, and the value of the rule of law and human rights must be strengthened. When climate change and environmental destruction threaten, we can, through joint efforts, scale up the work to meet the challenges. Our countries are at the forefront when it comes to these issues. Together we become stronger.

However, we cannot take our good Nordic cooperation and cohesion for granted. By constantly working to improve relations, finding areas of cooperation that benefit our countries, and encouraging and supporting our citizens' opportunities, not least those of the young, to benefit from both culture as well as studies and work opportunities, we keep the Nordic cooperation good and strong.

In our Nordic neighbors, we find both similarities and distinct characteristics. In border areas, at best, a regional cohesion can be created based on the fact that one can live and work, study, and participate in culture on both sides of the border. For most of my adult life, I have lived in such a region, the Öresund region. There, the proximity between the countries is palpable; the regional train journey between central Malmö and Copenhagen, what is called the Öresundståget, takes just over half an hour. It is a shorter time than it takes to travel from the outskirts of Stockholm into the city center.

But the sense of community is being tested by border obstacles. Whether it concerns ID checks or tax rules that make life difficult for cross-border commuters, solutions need to be found. I am glad that the final entry restrictions due to covid-19 finally ceased in 2022. I therefore hope that the work to remove ordinary border obstacles will get underway now that the pandemic is finally over.

Madam Speaker! To facilitate integration between our countries, we would also need to see better cooperation and better coordination in the area of infrastructure.

Miljöpartiet has been driving for the construction of faster train connections both between Oslo and Stockholm as well as between Stockholm and Copenhagen. Since the government has scrapped the project for new main lines, we risk instead seeing the railway become completely congested when the train transports from Germany through Denmark increase after the Fehmarn Bält connection has opened.

The Riksdag has previously announced that the government should work towards a ministerial council for transport, transport, and infrastructure issues. Unfortunately, this has not become a reality. Instead, following the transport ministers' meeting in Fredrikstad in November last year, it was stated that the ministers should continue the work within the framework of existing forms of cooperation. The committee finds no reason to issue a new announcement at this time regarding the establishment of a ministerial council for infrastructure and transport issues. I do, however, think it is an important issue to keep an eye on moving forward, and I am not averse to returning to it.

Madam Speaker! Both the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have reminded us of the need to cooperate more within defense and crisis preparedness. The Green Party supports that Sweden needs to build security with other countries, especially together with our Nordic and Baltic neighbors. Here, Nordefco is important, and I look forward to the update of Nordefco's Vision 2025 that the Nordic defense ministers have decided upon.

As my colleague Rasmus Ling pointed out in the Nordic debate last year, the Green Party has indeed been critical of a Swedish NATO membership for Sweden, but we clearly see that there can be collaborative benefits when all Nordic countries are part of the same defense alliance.

But it is important to say that there is also a Nordic benefit of cooperation within the area of civil defense and crisis preparedness. For example, Sweden has much to learn from Finland when it comes to preparedness and stockpiling. With climate change, it is highly likely that the number of peacetime crises will increase as cloudbursts, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and forest fires strike. That is where the Nordic cooperation is needed.

The consequences of a changed climate are likely to be particularly palpable in the Arctic. Global warming has hit the Arctic and its inhabitants especially hard. The climate and environmental changes are dramatic in the area. The ice is melting, which affects the biodiversity and the living conditions for the population in the region. The indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable, especially since they often do not own the land they cultivate. The reduced ice cover also creates new conditions for utilizing natural resources in the area, and new shipping lanes for maritime transport become possible. Interest in the region has therefore increased among both Arctic and non-Arctic states as the ice melts.

It is not just that the committee expresses that "climate change in the Arctic has contributed to an increased global interest in the region," which in itself is correct. But the committee continues: "The committee welcomes the opportunities this provides to mobilize increased engagement to manage the consequences of climate change in the Arctic." It would of course be very positive if we can achieve increased engagement to manage climate change, but that is not the only thing at stake. The Arctic has become an area where great power rivalry is played out, and an increased military presence and activity in the region has security policy consequences.

Sweden is an Arctic country and is therefore part of the Arctic Council. Therefore, we have a special responsibility to contribute to constructive international cooperation in the Arctic region. Arctic cooperation has been challenged as a consequence of Russia's illegal war of aggression in Ukraine. It is positive that Norway has now been able to take over as the chair country in the Nordic Council. Sweden must continue to work for a stable, peaceful and sustainable development in the region. Therefore, it is important with well-functioning international cooperation and continued and reinforced dialogue with Arctic and non-Arctic actors in the region.

Madam Speaker! It is also of great importance that the global goals for sustainable development within Agenda 2030 are achieved in the Arctic as well, and in that work, Sweden must be proactive. The fossil era must come to an end, and the extraction of fossil energy in the area must not be allowed to occur. The largest undiscovered oil and gas reserves in the Arctic are estimated to be located within the coastal states' continental shelves. Since the world is in a climate crisis, it is of utmost importance that these fossil natural resources are not exploited. Instead, rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions both in Sweden and globally is crucial to mitigating climate change. It is a question of existential character, not least for the Arctic.

Madam Speaker! I vote in favor of the Miljöpartiets reservation 13 regarding the Arctic and otherwise vote in favor of the committee report.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Jessika Roswall (M)

Madam Speaker! Let me begin by expressing my and the government's deepest sympathies with the Ukrainian people after the destruction of the Kachovka hydroelectric power plant in the Kherson region yesterday, which has caused enormous damage to incredibly many people and entire communities. The attack represents a completely new level of destruction from the Russian side, and there is no doubt that those responsible will be held accountable for this and for the many other war crimes committed since the war began.

It has been almost a year and a spring since Russia launched its aggression against Ukraine. This aggression signified a boundless contempt for international law, for the most fundamental rules and principles of the UN Charter, for the European security order, and for every person's right to live in peace and freedom.

This new uncertain global situation underscores the importance of democratic states uniting and cooperating. The Finnish and the forthcoming Swedish NATO membership is a historical step in the continued direction. It makes our cooperation in the immediate area more urgent than it has been in a very long time.

The Nordic cooperation rests on a solid foundation of our common history, our cultural heritage, geographical proximity, linguistic understanding, and the strong economic and popular ties. This community strengthens our cooperation. Therefore, this government has the Nordic cooperation high on the agenda, not as an isolated occurrence but as an integrated part of the policy.

In the government statement in the autumn, the Prime Minister emphasized that a closer and stronger Nordic cooperation is crucial, both for our region's collective influence in the EU and for our own contribution to security within the framework of the upcoming NATO membership. In the foreign policy declaration in February, the Foreign Minister emphasized, among other things, the continued work with the vision that the Nordic region should become the world's most sustainable and integrated region, as well as the intention to ambitiously prepare both the chairmanship we have next year in the Nordic Council and the informal foreign and security policy cooperation in N5 and NB8.

Madam Speaker! Today I am here to speak about Nordic cooperation based on the communication that the government submitted to the Riksdag on March 20. The communication accounts for the 2022 business year, with a focus on the Nordic Council. I intended to make a few short observations regarding the past year, but also to look forward and speak about how we build the Nordic cooperation even stronger.

The vision for 2030 is fixed, as many of you have already said. The Government, together with the Nordic countries, agrees that the three strategic priorities, namely a green, competitive, and socially sustainable Norden, shall continue to guide the work of the Council of Ministers.

Last year, a mid-term evaluation was conducted of the action plan for the vision work 2021-2024. It showed concrete results and effects in the form of joint solutions and platforms for Nordic cooperation, highly relevant reports and analyses, and an increased focus on climate and the green transition. But it also showed the need to further strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation, not least regarding environment and climate, and the need to strengthen cooperation with the business sector in the green transition and expand the initiatives to promote mobility and integration, including through digital solutions.

Under the Swedish presidency next year, the government will prioritize the continued work to realize this vision. This means that we will need to prioritize. Resources are limited and need to be focused where they provide the most effect and contribute to the goals.

The agenda for the work ahead is broad. We need to identify and further develop measures that contribute to stimulating green solutions and biodiversity and that promote our competitiveness and increase mobility within the Nordic region. We need to strengthen our cooperation internationally and within the EU. The Nordic countries shall be a strong and clear voice in international contexts, for example in the negotiations on a new global agreement against plastic pollution.

I also want to highlight the cooperation within the transport area as central for the Nordic countries to manage the green transition through innovation. When the Nordic transport ministers met in Fredrikstad last November, they decided to increase cooperation to promote innovative solutions within technologies with no or low emissions.

If there is consensus on this, which clearly emerged when I met my ministerial colleagues in Reykholt in Iceland last week. As cooperation ministers, we have a common task in driving forward the Nordic Council's collective work.

Madam Speaker! An important issue in the work ahead is to draw lessons from the strained situation that prevailed during the pandemic in order to strengthen our crisis cooperation. Broad work is ongoing both within and outside the ministerial council's structures for the Nordic countries so that the Nordic countries will be better equipped for future crises. For example, the analyses that were developed in a number of different areas shall be followed up in order to identify and address deficiencies.

Let me give some examples.

Within the Haga cooperation, where Sweden is chair this year, the work continues to strengthen and deepen the Nordic countries' ability to resist and manage serious accidents and crises that can affect one or more countries in the Nordic region. The work has intensified after the pandemic and Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Within the social sector and the health sector, we are looking at how the infrastructure for sharing health data can be improved between the Nordic countries. We are also looking at issues linked to Nordic capacity for vaccine production.

For me as Nordic Minister and for my colleagues, it is among other things about following up on the declaration that was adopted last year in Halden and taking responsibility for specifically highlighting the Nordic and cross-border regional perspective in our respective governments.

Madam Speaker! Simplifying mobility in the Nordic region and counteracting border barriers is of the utmost importance. It should be easy to live, work and run businesses in the entire Nordic region and across borders, which is a central part of the vision and a goal that requires constant work. In areas where trust has been damaged, it is important to work to recreate it. Both mental and practical border barriers must be prevented and addressed.

I want to take the work on border barriers further and focus on issues that make the biggest difference for the companies and people who live in and operate across the Nordic borders. As several members have touched upon, it often concerns issues linked to taxes, social benefits, and digital solutions.

Visiting border regions and listening to the people who are daily affected by these issues is a central part of this work. I visited Copenhagen and the Öresund region in January. Together with my new Danish colleague, I met with regional actors, including the working group Greater Copenhagen Task Force.

We agreed that the work on border obstacles should be prioritized and streamlined at all levels - nationally, bilaterally and in the Nordic cooperation - but also that politics cannot do everything. The business community also has an important role in removing or mitigating border obstacles. We agreed to follow up with further meetings in the future to update each other on how the work is progressing.

During the autumn, I will continue to visit border regions in different parts of the country. I look at Kjell-Arne Ottosson: I will, of course, visit the border region towards Norway shortly.

Removing and preventing border obstacles is not only important from a principled perspective, but Sweden also has a self-interest in this. This applies not only because we are geographically most affected, but also because our population is the population that is most mobile across the borders.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' border barriers council plays an important role in creating conditions for an integrated region and has contributed to removing many concrete border barriers.

At the meeting in Iceland last week, a joint meeting was held between the Nordic Ministers and the Border Obstacle Council. There is a common view on how important it is to continue solving the problems that arise and on the need to constantly develop and streamline the work. Here we can do more or gear up, as someone said earlier in the debate.

Madam Speaker! Let me conclude by stating that the Nordic region is a leader when it comes to economic freedom, innovation, and competitiveness. As a whole, the region could join the G20, which is another way of measuring it. We have enormous potential to, through our leading companies, industries, and innovation clusters, lead the way in the green transition as part of increasing our competitiveness and meeting our citizens' expectations for a more integrated Nordic region.

The Government will move forward by giving high priority to cooperation in the immediate vicinity and work towards closer and stronger Nordic and Nordic-Baltic cooperation. During the presidency, we will in various ways highlight that the Nordic common labor market, which is a cornerstone of the Nordic integration work, celebrates 70 years.

Within the framework of the chairmanships in N5 and NB8, the security policy cooperation will be given special attention as well as the continued support for Ukraine.

Madam Speaker! Yesterday we celebrated Sweden's National Day, and on Monday Denmark celebrated its Constitution Day. On Friday is Åland's Autonomy Day. The following week the turn comes to Iceland, followed by Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The year begins with Norway and ends with Finland.

We all have much to celebrate: our democracies, our freedom and our prosperity. We have a unique and shared history, a unique and shared culture and, above all, a common striving towards even closer Nordic cooperation.

I would like to conclude by thanking the Nordic Council's Swedish delegation for a very good cooperation. Just as Joar Forssell said, it feels secure with such a unanimous debate. I look forward to the continued work.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! I have a supplementary document and a question for the Minister and I will begin with the supplementary document.

I did not speak particularly much about the Arctic and the Arctic region in my speech. I do, however, ask the Minister to pay as much attention as possible to the region, not least considering that Sweden is hosting the large conference in March, which Alexandra Anstrell took up in her speech.

Many in Sweden do not think about the fact that we live in an Arctic region. As a person from Skåne, one very rarely thinks about it. This is something we all must become better at noticing. This is my message.

Now to my question. In our reservation 9 on foreign policy, security and crisis preparedness, we point out that we have much to learn from our neighboring countries, which I also mentioned in my speech. This applies in particular after the pandemic and the crises we have just gone through. There is a group for strategic coordination which today falls under the Ministry of Justice and the Minister for Justice, but we want it moved to the Government Offices. When one ends up in a crisis, one must be able to quickly initiate, push through, and above all synchronize the work of the authorities.

Is this something that Minister Roswall will look into more closely? If there is anything we have learned, not least after the pandemic, it is that synchronization, dialogue in the work of the authorities and new legislation is incredibly important. This has caused wounds in our respective countries. Is the Minister prepared to look at the issue?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Jessika Roswall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank you for the question.

I begin with the accompanying document, which I of course bring with me, and allow myself to make a reflection. I agree on the importance of us being reminded of the cooperation that exists regarding the Arctic and view with concern how it has developed. I believe there is a consensus on this among the members present in the chamber today.

I want to expand on that a little bit. Kjell-Arne Ottosson had an important point regarding the understanding of the Nordic issues. I thank him for wanting to give Nordic ministers, regardless of party, stronger support. The question of how we can highlight the Nordic cooperation is probably something many of us grapple with. It is very much about the understanding of these issues. I take that with me.

I also take the question of crisis management with me; I am of course not impossible in any way. A great deal of evaluations have been made after the pandemic regarding what we did wrong and how we can learn from it. We do not know what the next crisis will look like. How shall we have the right preparedness? What happens in terms of fires? There is much we need to look further into.

Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin has the ultimate responsibility for these issues, including for crisis preparedness.

This work is something that is ongoing constantly. Furthermore, there are many collaborations within the area of crisis preparedness, including the Haga collaboration. The work is, as said, ongoing all the time, but I am also prepared to look at new parts.

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Angelika Bengtsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! I thank you for the answer. It sounds truly encouraging. Our thought is that the work should be in place quickly when a new crisis strikes. It is something we know will happen, but we do not know when. I am pleased that the Minister is prepared to look into the issue, for it is incredibly important.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Jessika Roswall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank you again for the question. But I also think we should remind ourselves that in many areas we have a good cooperation that is quickly in place. We have good relations. As someone else said here in the speaker's chair earlier today, we are at home with each other. I believe that facilitates ensuring that quick help arrives when there is a crisis.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Staffan Eklöf (SD)

Madam Speaker! In this year's Nordendebatt, we Sverigedemokrater naturally stand behind all our reservations, but for the sake of time, I move for approval only of reservation 9, which aims for better cooperation during crises as well as greater security.

Yesterday, Sweden celebrated 500 years of independence. When Gustav Vasa was elected king of Sweden, it marked the end of a period of unfreedom. It also marked the beginning of 500 years of unbroken independence. We have our ancestors to thank for our independence and freedom, and we owe it to our children to defend the same. We are Swedes, a free people, and so shall it remain!

After centuries of war, the Nordic countries today cooperate voluntarily and peacefully in Nordic cooperation. One of the greatest strengths of Nordic cooperation is precisely this voluntariness. No nation forces another nation to do anything. Despite this, Nordic cooperation goes further than EU cooperation in certain respects. I believe that it can serve as a model for a change of EU cooperation. EU cooperation must, in fact, be reformed. It has already taken a large part of the independence that our ancestors gave us.

The Helsinki Accords, which form the basis of Nordic cooperation, are up for revision. I want to emphasize already now that the voluntary nature must not be touched. If anyone thinks that mandatory decisions and majority decisions are preferable in order to make the cooperation more efficient – please, think again! That would destroy the essence of the cooperation. Every nation must be free to make its own decisions. It is one of the pillars that holds up the Nordic region.

Madam Speaker! China is the world's largest emitter and already emits more than the EU per capita and significantly more than Sweden. China has a fast track in the Paris Agreement and is allowed to continue increasing its emissions. This is sometimes justified with an argument about justice and a right to emit carbon dioxide, and reference is sometimes made to historical emissions. The fact is that China is on track to overtake the EU at rocket speed even in historical emissions per capita. In a few years, the curves will cross. That Sweden and the Nordic countries have led the way has not yet had any impact, what can be known for sure, and it will also not affect poor countries and dictatorships - because they cannot or do not want to.

Every climate policy must, in order to be effective, focus on reducing the emissions of the large emitting countries. The Nordic Council of Ministers tasked two researchers with answering the question of how the Nordic countries can best contribute to improving the global climate. Their answer was that the Nordic countries best do so through technological development and technology dissemination, i.e., not by acting as a role model. I therefore urge the government and the Nordic Council of Ministers to carefully analyze the climate measures being taken within Nordic cooperation and to consider how measures can be taken to reduce the emissions of the large emitting countries instead of focusing too narrowly on the Nordic countries' emissions.

Madam Speaker! Nordic cooperation is conducted quite a bit in silos, which means that the impact of measures on all values is not fully taken into account. This can, for example, concern decisions that increase competitiveness but perhaps do not fully take environmental values into account, and environmental decisions that perhaps do not fully take competitiveness into account. More and more often, people talk about sustainability when they only mean environmental sustainability. But that is in conflict with the idea of sustainability. A sustainable development is, by definition, precisely a development that occurs in balance between all important values - in line with conservative ideas. It is probably for that reason that one can gain support for the idea of sustainability. Explicitly, environmental, economic, and social sustainability are usually mentioned as parts of sustainability.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has adopted a vision for the Nordic region to become the world's most sustainable region. That is good. We believe that the government should work towards a review of all projects within the areas of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council that are carried out for improved sustainability. The review should aim to ensure that at least the following three aspects of sustainability are considered and balanced: environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Preferably, cultural sustainability should also be considered and included in the trade-offs.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker! I reacted to some things in Member Eklöf's speech that I would like to ask about.

You said, among other things, that the Nordic countries go further and faster than the rest of Europe in certain issues. You also mentioned China. I wonder which issues you are thinking of. You mentioned the climate, but are there other issues? You are welcome to elaborate a bit on what you mean by that the Nordic countries go further. I perceived it as if it were not to be positive. Do you think it is positive that the Nordic countries go further, and which issues are you thinking of? Please elaborate on your answers!

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Staffan Eklöf (SD)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the questions. Nordic cooperation is often better than EU cooperation in the sense that it goes further in the areas where we want it to go further. One can take mobility across borders, entrepreneurship across borders, and employment across borders as examples. There we go further than the EU, and it works better. This is clearly positive. The point is that we have achieved it through voluntariness. This shows the power of voluntariness and how much it is worth for the cooperation we have within the Nordic region. Therefore, it is very important not to change the cooperation by making it less voluntary.

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Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker! I still perceived that the member meant that it is bad if it is the case that the Nordic countries have higher climate requirements than the rest of Europe.

I heard as late as this morning, on all the news channels I listened to, that Sweden has now fallen so far behind in climate work that we have no chance of reaching our goals, but that we will have to do it anyway because the EU has higher goals than Sweden does. I wonder how the member sees that.

The Speaker also mentioned the vision that the Nordic region should be the world's most sustainable region by 2030. As I understood it, that vision was questioned. My question is: Do the Sweden Democrats no longer share that ambition?

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Staffan Eklöf (SD)

Madam Speaker! My main speech had three separate parts; it may have been unclear. In the first round of speeches, Heléne Björklund and I addressed the first of these parts. Now we come to the second part, which concerned the climate. It is problematic if one has an all-too narrow focus on the emissions of the Nordics and Sweden, given that it is not effective.

We see that when the EU reduces its emissions, China increases them by double. A climate policy that does not take into account China's emissions is doomed to fail. For the sake of effectiveness and so that we can succeed with the climate, we must pursue a policy that reduces emissions in other countries and not least in China.

According to the researchers and what we have considered for many years, it goes partly through technological development and technology diffusion. We cannot force China to do anything. It is about using new technology, which we develop here in the Nordics, to make it possible to reduce fossil use.

If it is the case that we can produce energy technology that is as cheap as or even cheaper than fossil energy technology, everyone will want it. Then you automatically get a global transition.

It is not the only way. There are surely other ways we can come up with. But we must always keep in focus that our policy should reduce the global burden and not just the Nordic burden. That is what will make us succeed, otherwise not.

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TREDJE VICE TALMANNEN

As Speaker, I am very pleased to note that members speak through the Speaker and not directly to one another in the form of "you" and "you". It follows the traditional order we have in the chamber.

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Anna Lasses (C)

Madam Speaker! There are both advantages and disadvantages to standing almost last on the speaking list. A great deal of wisdom has already been spoken, and one would prefer not to repeat what has been said. But perhaps one can add something.

I can state that it is pleasant, as someone previously pointed out, to be in a debate on an issue where we are relatively in agreement, namely how incredibly decisive the Nordic cooperation is.

Then we can, of course, have slightly different views on exactly what should be done. For example, the Center Party wants us to review the Helsinki Agreement at an absolutely calm pace. However, it still needs to be reviewed, given the developments taking place. We would also like to see a ministerial council for transport, logistics, and infrastructure. But that question has also been touched upon previously.

Everyone has also raised the issue of free movement and that border barriers should be removed. Several have raised the work on equality within the Nordic region but also a common stance outward. Here, I would still really like to emphasize that we from Centerpartiet think it is an incredibly important issue. Even the abortion issue, which was raised earlier, cannot be seen as a national issue. It is definitely something that we need to drive together in the whole world.

In the world we live in, the climate issue and the security issue are absolutely at the top of the agenda. In that context, we who live here and actually, over all, in the entire world, need to view the Arctic as the extremely important area that it is when it comes to both climate and security.

That is why we believe that the Nordic Council and its Council of Ministers need to prioritize that issue, which is naturally being done, to an even greater extent in order for there to be sustainable development in the Arctic region. It needs to be coordinated with the Arctic Council in the continued development. Given the developments, there needs to be a particular focus on the security policy issues but also the climate policy issues.

I therefore wish to move for the approval of our reservation number 12.

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Victoria Tiblom (SD)

Madam Speaker! Our Nordic languages are a fascinating world. At the same time as there are similarities between the languages, there are also differences and many unique characteristics. Our linguistic heritage captivates both researchers and enthusiasts. Several of the Nordic languages are closely related and are understood relatively easily by inhabitants in other Nordic countries, which is unique.

The Nordic languages, also known as the North Germanic languages, are a group of closely related languages spoken in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. In our neighboring country Finland, the Finnish language belongs to the Uralic language family and not the North Germanic.

Even though the Nordic languages share a common origin, each language has its own characteristics. This makes the study of Nordic languages an exciting and multifaceted field. From the rhythmic tones in Danish to the melodic rhythm in Swedish, each language has its own captivating charm. Exploring the Nordic languages allows us to appreciate the rich diversity of human communication and the enduring heritage from the Old Norse civilization.

Madam Speaker! A fundamental factor for why the Nordic countries are so closely linked at all is our ability to communicate with one another. The understanding of languages and the possibility of communicating with one another in the Nordic languages is a key factor in the Nordic community and Nordic cooperation.

A strong language understanding acts as a lubricant for our common communication and reduces transport costs within trade, while simultaneously contributing to the integration of labor markets and cultural and educational policy cooperation.

That the Nordic Council urges and encourages communication in the Nordic languages during our joint sessions and meetings is very positive. It contributes to strengthening the linguistic understanding between the parliamentarians. For a long time, Scanian has been established as a working language.

We Sweden Democrats see the importance of Scandinavian having a continued strong position. But we mean at the same time that the settlement that was made to strengthen the position of Finnish and Icelandic is important, not least symbolically.

Striving for a common working language facilitates and has many advantages. Improvements must also be made so that the status of the Finnish and Icelandic languages can be handled on similar terms, without it involving an approximation to English as a working language.

Madam Speaker! It is important that we do our utmost to preserve our different languages. We also need to work more on language understanding to facilitate for us in the Nordic region to live and work in the other Nordic countries. For example, exchange places in the Nordic region are an important factor.

Together we are one of the world's ten largest economies and the fifth largest in Europe. If we are to be able to continue to develop and grow, we also need to facilitate cooperation between us in the best possible way.

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Ann-Christine From Utterstedt (SD)

Madam Speaker! The Nordic region is a strong brand in the world and is seen as a politically stable region with long-standing democracy. These values are not self-evident and must therefore be actively protected. That the migration policy is responsible is therefore directly decisive for the Nordic region's future.

The Sweden Democrats are critical of the decision to implement the Nordic Council's cooperation program in the area of integration. In the Nordic cooperation, there are unfortunately no clear guidelines regarding the immigrant's own responsibility and will to be integrated into the majority society.

We do, however, share the Nordic Council of Ministers' assessment that education and work are two of the key prerequisites for a successful integration process. Ensuring that immigrants have digital competence and language proficiency is crucial, as is working for non-discrimination and equality and against an emerging honor culture.

Integration can, however, and also should not only take place through society's care but presupposes an individual responsibility to adapt and become a part of the new country and in this case also the region Norden.

An uncontrolled and irresponsible immigration policy has also contributed to good working conditions according to the Swedish model being challenged as a new black market sector has emerged. We believe that the Nordic countries need to take a collective grip on the black sector and carry out a review and reporting of the conditions on the labor market, especially when it concerns workplaces and sectors with a large proportion of insecure employments with low wages.

Madam Speaker! In order to achieve the goal of being the world's most integrated region, we need to coordinate and strengthen our preparedness. From the pandemic, we have learned that there need to be prepared regulatory frameworks that facilitate cooperation among us Nordic countries and counteract, for example, border obstacles.

Therefore, we propose that a common Nordic crisis mechanism be established that shall be ready to enter into force immediately during societal crises. It shall, among other things, include a special Nordic entry permit that enables cross-border commuters' freedom to run their companies and makes it possible for employees to reach their workplace despite pandemics and general restrictions.

In conclusion, I also want to mention the area of health and care. In order to meet the health and care needs that exist, we propose that the Nordic countries first establish a national coordination of resources to then jointly map out the total resource need. This could open up for our Nordic countries to be given the opportunity to relieve each other if, during certain periods, an increased pressure on healthcare resources arises in any of the countries.

We should also review whether we can standardize and harmonize the regulatory framework for private healthcare and care providers so that they can operate across the entire Nordic region without obstacles and as needed.

(Applause)

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Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker and the member from Utterstedt! I have only a short question, which I asked a member who spoke earlier here but without receiving an answer. Now the member from Utterstedt also mentioned the vision for the Nordic region, that is, that we should be the world's most integrated and sustainable region. But she only mentioned half of the vision – that it should be the world's most integrated region.

I therefore repeat the question that I asked the Sverigedemokrater who spoke earlier: Do the Sverigedemokrater no longer share the vision? It was mentioned here in an earlier speech that the Sverigedemokrater want the vision to be evaluated and possibly reconsidered. My simple question is therefore: Do the Sverigedemokrater no longer share the vision for the Nordic countries?

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Ann-Christine From Utterstedt (SD)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the question! If the Member – like the rest of the Chamber and the Speaker – were attentive, she would know that what I spoke about in my speech was integration. We in the Nordic countries must conduct migration policy together, and not in the way that Sweden has conducted it until now. What we must come to is that the rest of the Nordic countries do not follow Sweden in any way.

Previous governments have been extremely naive and have basically kept Sweden's borders completely open. This has contributed to the fact that labor crime, for example, has increased in our country. We do not want the rest of the Nordic countries to come there. This also applies to the honor culture that has emerged in Sweden - an honor culture that we do not want in our country. We do not want it to be a part of our culture at all; it is a foreign culture that does not belong with us.

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Heléne Björklund (S)

Madam Speaker! I understood that the member's contribution was about refugees. But my question is whether the Sweden Democrats consider that the Nordic region should be the world's most sustainable region, as we say in our common vision.

Nordic cooperation including the Arctic

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Ann-Christine From Utterstedt (SD)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for wanting further clarifications! I do not know if I will be able to satisfy the Member with my contribution. We are, as said, two different parties, and that is well and good!

I cannot answer in any other way in this post than that what we want with the Nordic region and with the vision, for example, is this: In order for the Nordic region to become a well-integrated region, we must have a responsible and wise immigration policy. That was what I took up in my post, and I believe that has become clear to the member.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 15.)

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