Society's crisis preparedness

Sara-Lena Bjälkö (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by saying that we Sweden Democrats support the committee's proposal in the Committee on Defence's report FöU7 Society's crisis preparedness.

Society's crisis preparedness is about working preventatively and preparing society to handle various threats if they become a reality.

Sweden has, as many have known, been spared from war for the last 200 years. But we have been affected and will also be affected by other events that can have severe consequences.

The entire society must be able to react quickly and manage both small and large accidents and crises. Society in general has responsibility through regions, municipalities, county administrative boards, state agencies, the business sector, and voluntary organizations. It is the government, Madam Speaker, that has the ultimate responsibility.

All parts of civil society are included in the crisis management system and have different tasks and roles. But we have quite a lot of work to do to make it function across all of Sweden.

Our preparedness today is not sufficiently developed to meet today's and tomorrow's threats, because what does not work in peacetime will not work in wartime either.

We have long healthcare queues and insufficient staffing within healthcare and elderly care. There is a lack of police and personnel within the rescue services to meet the need for rapid intervention for our entire country.

Since the pandemic, SOS Alarm has received criticism regarding everything from problems with technical systems to long response times. The staff shortage has been a constant. My hope is that the new measures will remedy the problems.

Previous investigations have shown the company's important role within the total defense. But despite this, there are still uncertainties regarding the coordination with other authorities and actors within the framework of total defense planning.

The Sweden Democrats and the coalition parties emphasize in this report the need for the government to ensure SOS Alarm's opportunities to be included and coordinated with other actors within the framework of total defense planning.

Madam Speaker! In times of threat, crisis or war, it is extra important that citizens feel a strong confidence in the alerting function that SOS Alarm has the mission to manage. That function must work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, regardless of whether there is peace, crisis or war.

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

Marcus Andersson (S)

Madam Speaker! Today we are dealing with the committee report on Society's Crisis Preparedness. It is an important issue that extends across many horizons, from cybersecurity and rescue services to SOS Alarm.

I want to start by saying that we Social Democrats stand by our reservations. But I choose, for the sake of time efficiency, to move for approval only to reservation number 3.

Madam Speaker! We are entering a new period of what society will be tested against. We have a strengthening of the total defense, and civil duty shall be introduced.

Many components must align for it to provide society with the crisis preparedness capability required to ensure the safety of Sweden's inhabitants during various events.

In the current security policy situation, with experiences from Ukraine and surrounding EU countries, we clearly see how war in one country directly creates crises in other countries. They are migration crises, electricity crises, and supply crises.

This places demands on civil society's own crisis preparedness during both short and intense challenges where concentration of force, mobility, and effect are of utmost importance. But it also applies to long and protracted events that require redundancy, endurance, and long-term planning, even if society itself is not at war.

Mr. Speaker! A number of civil actors will need to be equipped and trained to reach the dimension that is required. Many of these actors will need an increase in staff to create a cohesive resilience and be able to meet natural disasters, hybrid threats and, in the worst case, a full-scale war.

Sweden as a nation needs to be able to meet various scenarios that will need to be coordinated between state agencies, municipalities, regions, and county administrative boards. All these parts are completely essential for the total defense's capability in events of disasters or war.

Mr. Speaker! Civil defense is now adapting to the changing world around us, and many challenges must be met in peacetime with a view toward being dimensioned for the requirements of war. When we achieve the capability for the requirements of war for society's crisis preparedness, we will also be able to handle floods, snowstorms, forest fires, and cyberattacks.

Healthcare within the region and rescue services within the municipality are first responders - actors who are crucial for being able to handle upcoming crises. Both of these currently face a challenge in staffing their regular operations in a normal situation. At high alert, as well as in a situation with grey zone events, these operations will need to have an endurance.

Mr. Speaker! The rescue services need to be able to be present throughout Sweden, and the conditions for this must exist. This means that the responsibility that now lies with the municipalities to deliver in coordination with MSB and meet the demand that exists nationally will require measures.

Mr. Speaker! Approximately two-thirds of the staffing of the Swedish rescue services consists of part-time firefighters - rescue personnel on call. At more than half of the country's fire stations staffed with part-time firefighters, there are staffing difficulties, which threatens the availability of effective rescue operations. So it says in MSB's annual report.

The rescue services and its personnel, both full-time and part-time employees, have a central role. To achieve a good effect from the rescue operation, a good supply of personnel will be absolutely crucial, while at the same time it is important to develop the competence of and train current employees.

It is important that part-time employees also get the opportunity for that type of competence development. But it is also about practicing and performing qualified tasks in order to create and maintain competence.

Mr. Speaker! To achieve an effective operation, equipment and opportunities for training are needed. There is a need for training fields, schools, and training facilities, as rescue services need to expand their capabilities with a focus on civil preparedness. One example is increased precipitation, which leads to more landslides and avalanches.

This means that the rescue services need to strengthen their basic capability. Such a capability is, for example, NUSAR, MSB's national reinforcement resource for urban search and rescue, which is specifically equipped and trained to search for and rescue people during rescue operations with collapsed building structures caused by, for example, natural events, accidents, acts of terrorism or war.

The experiences from Ukraine also demonstrate that the handling of unexploded ammunition and mass casualty incidents during full-scale conflict places additional demands on the rescue services. But it also concerns the availability of shelters for the rescue personnel themselves in order to be able to seek protection when fighting or hostile engagement is ongoing.

Mr. Speaker! In order for the rescue services to be able to meet all the expanded capabilities and their infrastructure and growth, leadership and governance must be clear. Foresight and planning of the prerequisites to realize the desired goal is of importance as municipalities and municipal associations shall budget and plan the operations.

There is more to inquire about, and the conditions in Sweden differ for the various rescue services. It concerns everything from what is included in their coverage areas regarding specialized conditions, such as ports, nuclear power plants and large cities, to extensive forest areas. Here, the local recruitment conditions also play a major role in order to be able to have a functioning operation.

In summary, Mr. Speaker, we Social Democrats see that there are opportunities to strengthen the rescue services and to provide the municipalities and regions with the conditions to manage the society's crisis preparedness.

(Applause)

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Alexandra Anstrell (M)

Mr. Speaker! Sweden must have a crisis preparedness so that we can meet the threat and the risks that we face and are facing. With the global situation we have today, which is incredibly fickle and worrying, we need to create a robustness – a robust resilience in a durable total defense.

Sweden has now received a government that intends to devote more energy not only to the military defense but also to the civil defense. Sweden's crisis preparedness shall be strengthened, in depth and in breadth, through a series of measures that the Moderaterna and the government are now implementing.

Sweden has, with this government, finally received a Minister for Civil Defence and reintroduced the issues of civil defence to the Ministry of Defence. We think that is good, and we believe it is wise to synchronise these issues so that one can better build a strong total defence together.

Sweden has received a new structure for civil defense and better management and coordination regarding the issues. It is good, it was needed – and a bit more is also needed.

Sweden will, through this government, receive a reactivated civil duty and new proposals regarding healthcare preparedness, civil protection, the food supply area, and so on. This will, of course, also strengthen the crisis preparedness.

Mr. Speaker! There is much one would like to raise regarding our crisis preparedness, but I would specifically like to point out the work that the government is doing to strengthen the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard receives additional funds in the budget bill for 2023.

The transport infrastructure will also be strengthened over the next three years, which will improve and meet the needs of society-critical aviation for the Coast Guard. But this also applies, of course, to ambulance and fire and rescue aircraft. This will ensure that the Coast Guard will continue to play an important role in our total defense. They already, of course, perform a very important function today, not only in Sweden but also internationally. In the EU, this concerns the important border surveillance and maritime surveillance work in Frontex.

The Coast Guard fills a small part in the big picture regarding the restoration of a strong Swedish total defense. It is good that we continue with it, especially in our international missions with our international friends now that Sweden is to become a member of Nato.

Mr. Speaker! We must increase and then maintain high pressure on issues regarding crisis preparedness and civil defense. It is important in order to be able to handle future crises in peacetime. But good crisis preparedness is also an important part of civil defense in the event of war. I see it as important for us members to continue to push on in these issues, and I truly appreciate the commitment to the issue from my colleagues in other parties.

It is up to all of us to be prepared for the crisis: that we prepare at home and that we can manage for up to seven days without help from society. I could speak about that for a long time, Mr. Speaker, but not today.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report.

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Mikael Larsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! Society's crisis preparedness, which we are now debating, is important in the difficult, restless times we live in, both in Sweden and in our surrounding world.

In this report, the Centre Party has many points of entry and reservations. I will go into some of them.

Mr. Speaker! That crisis preparedness is now being raised in several parts of our society and that it is given a larger role in Sweden is very good. The Centre Party thinks it is good that we have received a minister who has responsibility for civil preparedness, civil defense and the issues linked to crisis preparedness.

There are, however, certain things regarding crisis preparedness that we want to review. Today, there are three principles that one usually starts from when it comes to crisis preparedness. One usually speaks of the proximity, similarity, and responsibility principles.

Already after the large forest fires in Västmanland in 2014, MSB, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, proposed that the proximity and similarity principles should be replaced with a cooperation principle and an action principle. The Swedish Defence University, in turn, considered in an investigation of the forest fires that the responsibility principle was not expedient given the severity of what occurred. The management of society's crisis preparedness is thus still fundamentally based on three principles that are not dimensioned for the 2020s. The principles are intended to be guiding for how society's actors should prevent and manage accidents, crises, and societal disruptions, but the management of major events has shown that the principles do not always function quite in the way one would wish.

There are also no direct criteria for when an actor is considered to have taken their responsibility according to the principle of responsibility. Over the past few years, we have been affected by a pandemic. From this, which was then a crisis, it has also been possible to question and see that the principle of responsibility has sometimes been difficult to keep track of, and it has been difficult to say who ultimately has the ultimate responsibility.

Based on the evaluations that have been received and taking into account the observations from the corona pandemic and the forest fires, we must now begin to review these three principles, so that they become purposeful and that we get clear guidance when it comes to crisis preparedness, and that we take this with us when we look at the upgrading of the entire total defense moving forward.

Mr. Speaker! The cyber threat is among us daily, and it affects everyone in society. It affects the business community, municipalities and regions. It affects us as private individuals. Here, it is extremely important that society takes its responsibility and also works with education and public education. The state has its responsibility to work with these issues and provide education within the state authorities, within the business community and also within municipalities and regions.

When it comes to cybersecurity and how we should protect ourselves, it is also important that the general public is informed on how to best protect themselves. Here, the Center Party believes that the state should take its responsibility to educate. A good way to increase competence and educate our Swedish population is to make use of study associations in these matters. It is important that the whole society takes responsibility for cyber issues when these are issues that are becoming more and more important on our agenda.

Mr. Speaker! That people have access to electronic communications and can access societal information is important in everyday life, crisis, and war. Likewise, this is important for, for example, emergency services and others within the public sphere. In this regard, I am thinking primarily of the radio communication network Rakel. This needs to be modernized and future-proofed as we now equip the total defense. A radio communication system must be created that is good and that is prepared for the future we will soon face.

The system we have today is old and no longer meets the requirements that the users have, which has led to many of the user organizations now developing their own communication solutions. Within the framework of the January agreement between the Socialdemokraterna, Centerpartiet, Liberalerna, and Miljöpartiet, directives were drawn up for an investigation into a new Rakelnät. It is important that the new government takes this work forward and ensures that it is accelerated. It is important that the work with the development and establishment of the next generation communication solution is driven forward by the government and carried out, so that we do not once again end up in a situation similar to the one we have today and the one we have had previously, with several parallel systems. It is important that we have a system to be able to communicate within the blue light networks' organizations.

We need a new system that is robust and secure, where the state also has control. The starting point for this should be a solution where the state has its own network that it also owns and operates, and also buys into and runs the networks in the commercial mobile operators' networks. This shall be seen against the background of the security policy situation that we have in our surrounding world, where we constantly need to have as much control as possible.

The system must be able to handle mobile data communication and services in the mobile communication network. It shall be for the users, so that they can both send images and make calls to be able to convey information as quickly as possible when major crises and wars occur.

Mr. Speaker! The changing climate affects the entire society, and it is clear to everyone that our modern society is vulnerable to the consequences of an increasingly warmer climate. This leads to more frequent extreme weather, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall, and an increased risk of forest fires and floods, landslides, and rising sea levels. Some of this we see in Sweden, but we also see it in the world around us.

After the summer of 2021 with several severe storms in our global environment, including in the USA, and floods in Germany and Belgium, an international group of researchers warned that the earth is already approaching irreversible climate effects for, among other things, the world's tropical coral reefs and rainforests and that the summer ice in the Arctic is melting.

That the weather is extreme at occasional times does not have to have anything to do with climate change, but when extreme weather becomes more common, it becomes more relevant to speak of a connection between extreme weather and climate change. Climate change leads to a sharply increased need for adaptation measures and to a new threat, which, however, looks a bit different around Sweden. Heavy rainfall, high water flows, floods, heatwaves and periodic droughts, as we have seen during recent years, will, for example, lead to a marked deterioration of conditions for, for example, conducting agriculture around our country.

Also from a preparedness and vulnerability perspective, the availability of clean drinking water is an important issue, and not least in the ongoing total defense planning. We from Centerpartiet want to see an increased readiness and, in the event of natural disasters and crises in the wake of the climate crisis, review among other things the national climate adaptation strategy so that it is updated, and clarify the areas of responsibility between levels of government and authorities in order to also increase resilience and ensure that we get a more robust society where climate adaptation is obviously included in the total defense that we are now once again building up.

Mr. Speaker! Crisis preparedness and the reconstruction of a total defense are extremely important for the Center Party. We will push for these issues in the Riksdag and within the framework of the defense preparation that is now working and will submit its reports ahead.

I would like to conclude by moving for the approval of the Center Party's reservation 1 and wish my colleagues in the committee, Mr. Speaker, and others a happy and pleasant Easter!

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Anna Starbrink (L)

Mr. Speaker! This debate shows that there is a great and common will to take responsibility for Sweden's crisis preparedness. It is very pleasing, because Sweden as a country must, of course, be well-equipped to meet crises and even war.

Unfortunately, our civil defense - just like the military - is lagging behind. It is therefore a high-priority issue to build our civil capacity stronger. Russia's fearsome and violent war of aggression against Ukraine and the aggressive tone directed towards the West, including Sweden, has dramatically changed our security situation.

War is naturally among the most horrific things we can imagine. Our civil preparedness must account for this, but also for other situations that challenge our society. I am thinking of climate-related crises, cyberattacks, new pandemics, and other health risks. Unfortunately, the list of what we must be prepared for can be made very long.

The Government points to the ongoing development of civil defense and society's crisis preparedness and that this should, of course, both continue and be accelerated during the coming years. The Proposition Total Defence 2021 - 2025 and decisions made after it provide the main direction for the continued work with civil defense.

We are on the right track, I mean. A long series of good initiatives are being taken and have been taken in Sweden. And a number of investigations are reviewing how the preparedness can be strengthened - from many different perspectives.

We all follow the developments in Ukraine and are struck by the terrible things that the people there are forced to experience, but also by the extraordinary capacity for resistance that the civilian population as well as the country's leadership and defense forces demonstrate. It is impressive. It is also clear how incredibly central it is with the basic infrastructure and that necessary social services can be maintained even when people are vulnerable and have ended up in a very exposed position. I believe that we can learn a lot from what is now happening in Ukraine and from how the Ukrainian people meet the war that they are subjected to.

Much is being done, and we have taken several important initiatives. I am pleased that the new government has a specific minister responsible for these issues. It provides strength to push forward in the development of civil defense. Even the establishment of the new national security council and the appointment of a national security advisor, I believe, can become very significant.

The structure and legislation within the total defense and crisis preparedness must, of course, be ensured. This is now also being reviewed in a number of areas. This applies not least to the health and medical care area, where there is much to do.

The role of the rescue services has been touched upon by several in this debate. It cannot be overemphasized how important this is. And the activation of the civil obligation, which is now being done, is of great importance. The same applies to the measures that the government, MSB and many others have taken regarding the development, staffing, and training of the rescue services.

Mr. Speaker! Another area that several speakers have highlighted concerns cyberattacks, which our society is already exposed to today and is vulnerable to. A long series of measures have been taken recently to improve the conditions to withstand these attacks and increase our security. The new national cybersecurity center has an important role to fill when it comes to strengthening society's ability to prevent, detect, repel, and manage cyberattacks and various incidents. But it will require a large and extensive effort for us to be able to fulfill our ambition to equip our society to stand firm even in those contexts.

Mr. Speaker! There is an enormous amount more that could be highlighted, but I will not prolong the debate. I note that many of the motions we are discussing today contain wise proposals. I also note that active work is already underway in various parts to develop and strengthen our society's preparedness to meet crises.

It is welcome that the issue of civil preparedness is now an issue that engages many and broadly, for that has not always been the case. We may not all have felt the great need earlier either. But now is my impression that people from all parties take the issue very seriously. It is a harsh awakening for many of us when our society is tested by such great challenges as the pandemic and the severely deteriorated security situation. I am glad that we are now working with great force to strengthen our preparedness.

Mr. Speaker! I would like to move for approval of the committee's proposal and also take this opportunity to wish Mr. Speaker and all members a happy Easter.

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Ulf Holm (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Society's crisis preparedness feels like an unusually topical subject to discuss given how developments are unfolding. It is about us acquiring resilience so that Sweden can withstand several different problems, for example cyberattacks within the country but also from other states. It is about managing climate change, which leads to floods, forest fires, and droughts. It is about us having to be able to protect, for example, nuclear power plants because they constitute a potential military target, which we can now see in Ukraine. But it is also about disinformation and propaganda, including from other countries or in the general debate.

These and several other areas are up for debate today. Unfortunately, however, it does not quite feel like the majority in the Riksdag is taking the issues with the seriousness that would be needed, which I will return to later. The problems are, in fact, several, and I wish that the government and the Sverigedemokraterna had been able to take more initiatives to strengthen society's crisis preparedness.

Mr. Speaker! I believe it is important to establish that we need a society that is more resilient than it is today against, for example, the threats I just mentioned. To manage this, a much greater crisis preparedness is needed, but also more investments in a green, sustainable, and long-term civil defense as an important part of the total defense.

One of the more important parts that I want to bring up is the issue of climate adaptation for crisis preparedness, which is addressed under point 12 in this report.

Mr. Speaker! Yesterday, the Climate Policy Council's review of the government's overall policy regarding climate policy was released. The conclusions confirm what experts, authorities, and even the government's own budget have said. The government's climate policy is not only insufficient. Furthermore, it is heading in the wrong direction. Instead of Sweden being part of the solution, the government and the Sverigedemokraterna have ensured that Sweden is now part of the problem with increased emissions in the world.

This is a slap in the face to both current and future generations. Instead of being at the forefront and benefiting the climate and Swedish business, the government and Sverigedemokraterna have made decisions on a policy that reduces the reduction obligation, lowers the fuel tax, and abolishes the electric car bonus, which leads to several million tons of increased emissions until 2030 and to the halting of the electrification of the vehicle fleet that is currently underway. The Climate Policy Council also notes that Sweden is not meeting its obligations according to Sweden's Climate Act or in relation to commitments towards the EU and the UN.

Mr. Speaker! This policy will also have consequences for the issue of society's crisis preparedness. Above all, with the government's and the Sweden Democrats' policy, we will get a Sweden that continues to be dependent on oil and gasoline from dictatorial countries, and we will continue to feed the Russian war chest so that Russia can continue its war of aggression against Ukraine.

For the Green Party, we are clear that an active climate policy moving away from fossil fuels is a priority. We see the effects already now, and that is why climate adaptation is an important issue from a crisis preparedness perspective.

The changing climate affects the entire society, and it has become clear to everyone that our modern society is vulnerable to the consequences of an increasingly warmer climate. It leads to more frequently recurring extreme weather, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall, with an increased risk of forest fires, floods, landslides, erosion, and rising sea levels.

Mr. Speaker! In light of this, I move for the approval of reservation 10 under point 12, where we from the Socialdemokraterna, Centerpartiet, and Miljöpartiet in a joint reservation propose that an increased state of readiness for natural disasters and crises in the wake of the climate crisis be reviewed. Among other things, the national climate adaptation strategy needs to be updated to clarify the roles of responsibility between levels of government and authorities. Furthermore, climate adaptation measures should be taken for a more resilient and robust society, and climate adaptation should be included in the total defense's crisis preparedness.

Mr. Speaker! Closely linked to these issues is also the need to develop the rescue services, as the rescue services are the most important resource for rapid interventions in accidents, fires, and floods. A functioning rescue service also strengthens the total defense.

Miljöpartiet therefore proposes that the rescue services should be strengthened, for example by providing materials and facilitating the recruitment of part-time staff so that a good crisis preparedness always exists throughout the country.

Mr. Speaker! Another important issue within crisis preparedness concerns cyber defense. Sweden is regularly subjected to cyberattacks, which sometimes cause serious disruptions to large and important societal activities.

Cyberattacks are also ongoing from several different actors. China is an example of a great power that conducts advanced cyber espionage to promote its own economic development and develop its military capability.

Even though the purpose of most attacks is crime for financial gain, the result can still be serious disruptions of large and important operations in society, and such weaknesses can be exploited by a state.

It is clear that Sweden must strengthen its ability to both prevent and respond to these attacks. Miljöpartiet therefore proposes that cybersecurity in the public sector and in particularly society-critical parts of the private sector should be strengthened.

Mr. Speaker! I also want to raise the issue of resilience against disinformation and propaganda. The influence consists, among other things, of questioning democratic legitimacy and the principles of the rule of law and spreading extreme opinions and pure lies in order to polarize the public debate.

The rapid digitalization and the speed of the information society make questions of vulnerability and resilience in our societal systems increasingly topical. Disinformation is commonplace, and influence on public opinion in Sweden and other countries for the purpose of destabilizing society occurs continuously.

Psychological defense is therefore about building up society's resilience against disinformation and influence campaigns. It involves, among other things, increasing the ability to distinguish between reliable sources and sources that are not reliable.

The Authority for Psychological Defence is tasked with identifying, analyzing and countering improper information influence and other misleading information directed towards Sweden or Swedish interests.

Miljöpartiet proposes that one or more authorities be tasked with developing a national strategy to strengthen resilience against disinformation and propaganda so that media and information literacy can be strengthened.

Mr. Speaker! I naturally stand behind all the reservations from Miljöpartiet, but for the sake of time, as it is so nicely put, I move for approval of only reservations 10 and 12.

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Frida Tånghag (V)

Mr. Speaker! I move for approval of reservation 8.

Civil defense is a very large and broad area that, simply put, contains everything. The entire society is a part of civil defense. Here is everything from ordinary welfare with healthcare and childcare to electricity, heating, food, water, medicines and transport. This also includes all civil society efforts with volunteers.

Civil defense encompasses the entire society's ability to withstand crises, be resilient, and be able to recover as quickly as possible. It is of course incredibly important that Sweden's civil defense is strengthened moving forward and that we build upon the experiences that the recent years have given us.

Society's crisis preparedness

Mr. Speaker! We live in a society that in many places and for a long time has been hit by cuts and privatizations in the public sector and the welfare that is closest to us. Activities that already, when things are calm in society, are on their knees and have difficulty managing their operations will find it very difficult if we end up in a crisis. For the operations to be able to function in the event of a crisis, personnel are required who are not already exhausted and understaffed from the beginning.

We in Vänsterpartiet believe that we must stop the cuts in welfare. Sweden must have a fully funded welfare in the future where the staff have higher wages, better working conditions, and time for further education. More people must want to educate themselves within the healthcare profession and have the strength to work with pride all the way until retirement.

Mr. Speaker! We all have a common responsibility to ensure that the entire society is strong and resilient. For Vänsterpartiet, it is clear that an equal society where we plan, finance, and carry out things together is a strong society. We believe that privatizations and sell-offs have made our society weaker and that operations therefore have more difficulty being coordinated in an effective and rapid way during crises. We therefore need to reclaim society-critical operations, especially within welfare and in public ownership.

Crisis preparedness requires measures and investments in the entire welfare system from the ground up.

I move for a second approval of reservation 8.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be made on 12 April.)

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