Response to interpellation 2022/23:394 on rights for Ukrainian refugees in Sweden
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerned the rights of Ukrainian refugees in Sweden. M argues that Ukrainians are an important priority and that the government has taken measures to improve the conditions 1 2 3 4. M believes it is important to work for EU-wide solutions 1 and that they have done the right thing by prioritizing language skills 4. M notes that the daily allowance is very low 4. MP believes that the daily allowance is too low and that the government can raise it to the subsistence minimum through a quick budget decision 5 6. MP argues that it is simple to raise the daily allowance and that Ukrainian refugees should be granted the same right to SFI as other refugees 5 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! Annika Hirvonen has asked me if I intend to work for the daily allowance to at least be at the same level as the social assistance and how I intend to act so that the Ukrainian refugees can be registered in the population register as soon as possible and gain access to the same rights as other refugees who are granted residence permits in Sweden. Annika Hirvonen has also asked if I intend to ensure that the Ukrainian refugees continue to have the right to residence permits in Sweden after the third year of the mass flight directive expires, if the war is still ongoing.
It has now been approximately one and a half years since Russia's unprovoked and illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukraine issue is one of the government's most important priorities, and the support for Ukraine is strong and unanimous.
The regulation for what shall apply to persons granted temporary protection in Sweden was established over 20 years ago when the so-called mass flight directive was implemented into Swedish law. The regulation has largely functioned well and has enabled Sweden to receive many people from Ukraine in a short period of time. In some parts, however, the implementation has not occurred in a satisfactory manner, and the government has taken measures to improve the conditions for persons with temporary protection. Among other things, the possibility of gaining access to studies in Swedish through Swedish for immigrants, SFI, as well as Swedish and Swedish as a second language at komvux has been expanded.
To get a better picture of the situation for Ukrainians in Sweden, the government in the spring commissioned the UN's migration organization IOM to carry out a survey of the situation of Ukrainians in Sweden. The results of the survey were presented in June, and in connection with that, a round-table discussion was also held with invited representatives from civil society and authorities. The government is now considering what additional measures may be relevant to take. The issue of population registration is one of the issues being analyzed. It should, however, be emphasized that any changes to an existing regulation are complicated and will take time.
The government is keen that a potential decision to extend the directive for a third year is made in good time. This is something that many other member states are also requesting because it is important to have the best possible planning conditions. It is therefore positive that the Commission has signaled that a decision on extension is underway.
It is simultaneously important to already begin the work on what shall apply after 4 March 2025, which is something that is now being discussed within the EU. The Government considers it best to work for EU-wide solutions in order to avoid risks of a fragmented application of the law in the EU, which could result in secondary movements.
In summary, intensive work is currently underway regarding issues related to the situation of Ukrainians in Sweden, and I hope to be able to return with more information in the future.
Annika Hirvonen (MP)
Madam Speaker! It has been one and a half years since Russia's illegal, unprovoked, and violation of international law full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
All parties in the Swedish Riksdag have repeatedly jointly decided on military, economic, and humanitarian support to Ukraine. On that, we have been able to reach an agreement. When it comes to how we receive the Ukrainians who have fled the war, it does not look the same.
Already the same spring as the invasion began, we in Miljöpartiet identified that there are deficiencies in the old legislation concerning the group covered by the mass flight directive. We could establish that there was no right to Swedish for immigrants. I then took an initiative in the Education Committee for the then-government to begin work to give Ukrainian refugees exactly the same rights as all other refugees who receive protection in Sweden – that is, the right to study at SFI. This was voted down, and time and again the governments have said no to this right.
For one and a half years, many refugees from Ukraine have sat without the possibility of seeking work and simply getting a job because the Swedish language and knowledge of Swedish are so important. Instead, they are referred to sustaining themselves on the daily allowance. At most, the daily allowance for a single adult can be 71 kronor a day. That is not even enough to buy a lunch in the Riksdag's dining room! For a teenage boy, you get 56 kronor - 56 kronor to satisfy a seventeen-year-old's stomach! Try to manage that!
When I visited the Red Cross help center in Stockholm, where many Ukrainians turn to get potatoes, onions, oatmeal, and used clothes, I met a Ukrainian refugee, a mother who had come here with her five-year-old. She told me that she had bought apples for her son. She could not buy as much of what he pointed at, but once she had bought apples. Then she needed to borrow money from another Ukrainian refugee, because she wanted so much to buy cooking oil, so that she would not only have boiled potatoes to serve for the rest of the month but also be able to fry potatoes as a variation.
The situation that we are placing the Ukrainian refugees in Sweden in is poverty by definition. The Swedish subsistence minimum for maintenance support is much higher than the level of the daily allowance. The level of the daily allowance has remained unchanged for 30 years, but food prices, Madam Speaker, have not remained unchanged for 30 years.
Soon it will be time for the autumn budget. The government can rectify this with a quick decision in the budget and raise the daily allowance to at least the subsistence minimum.
Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! I think it is a great strength that the EU acted so quickly and in unison and activated the mass flight directive, and that we have nevertheless received approximately 50,000 Ukrainians here in Sweden in a short time. I also want to thank all those who have stepped up in civil society to give the Ukrainians as good a life as possible here in Sweden. Fantastic efforts are made every day.
The starting point for the government regarding those coming from Ukraine and those coming from other countries who are granted residence permits here is that they should be able to support themselves as soon as possible. The level of benefits provided to persons who have been granted temporary protection under the mass influx directive was established over 20 years ago when the directive was implemented into Swedish law. It has turned out that there are one or two deficiencies in the implementation, and it is quite frustrating. What was done was to point to the regulatory framework that applies to asylum seekers, and it is that arrangement that applies. But it is clear that the longer time passes, the more problematic this becomes.
The government really wants to be sure to use the resources in the very best way when it comes to Ukraine. That was also why we asked IOM to carry out this very extensive investigation. The results also show that, to a large extent compared to the rest of the EU, people are entering employment in Sweden. It is very pleasing. They want to support themselves, and many are, as said, in employment.
The single largest need identified in the survey concerned access to language studies and to the labor market. These issues are continued priorities for the government. That is why we have made the changes we have made regarding both SFI and komvux.
But the question of subsistence is also important. As I said, the government is now analyzing the results of IOM's investigation, and we are prepared to take measures if necessary. Changes regarding both population registration and daily allowance are a possible way forward. Such changes will, however, require complicated legislative changes which, in turn, in Swedish tradition take time.
In light of the complexity, it is also important not to rush these types of reforms. I also note that even the previous government was cautious about making changes to a regulatory framework that, nevertheless, largely actually works and provides people with protection.
Annika Hirvonen (MP)
Madam Speaker! It is not complicated at all to raise the daily allowance. That can be done in the budget. The Government can already this autumn announce that the daily allowance, which has not been raised for 30 years, can at least be raised to the subsistence minimum, which we otherwise agree is what one needs to get by.
It concerns the levels in the social assistance. The daily allowance is only 60 percent of the subsistence minimum. The Green Party's view is not that the refugees from Ukraine should be dependent on voluntary organizations and charity. Primarily, we should give them the best possible conditions to obtain their own livelihood, and in that, the right to Swedish language instruction for immigrants is a central part. Those who do not have a livelihood through their own work shall not be left in poverty.
We are talking here about people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The entire Riksdag is in agreement that we shall provide our support. This concerns people who are fleeing and who have been granted residence permits in Sweden and, furthermore, many other people from other countries who are asylum seekers and who are referred to live on subsistence level.
Madam Speaker! It may be complicated to make life better for refugees when one cooperates with the Sweden Democrats, but there is no complicated legislation here.
Madam Speaker! I still hear that the government says that measures are being analyzed and considered. Therefore, I want to ask the Minister: When will we receive information about measures that grant the right to Sfi and that change the population registration so that even refugees who are granted residence permits according to the mass exodus directive can be registered in the population register in the same way as all other refugees who are granted residence permits in Sweden? When will we receive information?
The population registration concerns a single day. The current regulations state that one becomes registered if one is granted a residence permit and is to be in Sweden for more than one year, that is, one year and one day. According to the mass exodus directive, residence permits are granted for exactly one year. It is a day that makes the difference when it comes to gaining access to the same rights as all other refugees who are granted residence permits in Sweden.
I understand that it may be more complicated to change that legislation than to increase the residency requirement, but I hope that the government is nevertheless prepared to change this, so that one year should be sufficient to become registered in the population register. It would rectify many of the deficiencies that exist today.
In conclusion, Madam Speaker, I just want to point out that Sweden came out worst in the report that the Nordic Council of Ministers produced, where they compared how the Nordic countries treat refugees from Ukraine. In other countries, the Ukrainian refugees are not forced to live below the poverty line. I think it is shameful that we in Sweden do not do more when this is easy to rectify.
Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! To begin with: If one is to see this in a Nordic context, it may be good to be aware that neither Denmark, Norway nor Iceland apply the so-called mass flight directive. It is therefore a bit difficult to compare directly.
Regarding the question of the Ukrainians' situation, I noted in my previous post that the single most important issue for the Ukrainians concerned access to the Swedish language. That can truly be understood. It is a small language, and it is often needed in order to be able to enter the labor market. That is why it is so important that the government has implemented the measures that it actually has taken. Money has been injected into SFI, specifically 100 million so that the municipalities can offer this. And changes have been made regarding the possibility of komvux.
The question of population registration is not entirely simple. It states clearly and distinctly in the Population Registration Act that a person who has been granted a residence permit with temporary protection is, as a general rule, not registered in the population register. In practice, this means that population registration does not become relevant during the first two years of the stay here. However, there are cryptic statements in the preparatory works suggesting that population registration, depending on individual circumstances, could become relevant from March 4, 2024, if the council decides on a further extension this autumn, which I believe they will do and which I hope they do as soon as possible.
But it is difficult or impossible for me to comment on what will generally apply to the entire group from Ukraine because this provision has never been applied previously. The directive has never been activated before, and the review and decision on population registration are made after an individual assessment.
This question is not uncomplicated, but I can assure Annika Hirvonen that we are analyzing the situation. I cannot give any date, but we will naturally get back to you as soon as we can.
Annika Hirvonen (MP)
Madam Speaker! The government analyzes what is complicated. I still have not received any answer as to when we can get notification regarding the changes that are necessary to ensure that Ukrainian refugees receive the same rights as other refugees who receive protection in Sweden. I hope that the minister can answer that in his concluding remarks.
Madam Speaker! One thing is at least simple. One thing the government can rectify already in the autumn budget, and that is the level of the daily allowance. It is not the Mass Exodus Directive that determines that Ukrainian refugees shall receive an allowance below the poverty line in Sweden. Nor is it the case that one must change the application of the entire Mass Exodus Directive in order to raise the daily allowance. The government can raise the daily allowance through decisions in connection with the autumn budget, which the government will soon present.
I would like to have an answer: Is the Minister for Migration prepared to increase the daily allowance that has remained unchanged for 30 years while food prices have skyrocketed?
Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! As I said initially, the Ukraine issue is one of the government's most important priorities, and the support for Ukraine is strong and unanimous. We are helping on the ground with defense materiel, civil defense, and other things, but we naturally also want to help the Ukrainians who are here. We want to do it in the best possible way. That is why we have also tasked IOM with producing a comprehensive knowledge base which we are now analyzing.
What we know so far from this is that we have done the right thing by prioritizing measures to ensure that the Ukrainians receive help to learn Swedish. Not being able to speak Swedish is the single biggest obstacle that one sees here in Sweden.
We are analyzing the issue further. We know that the compensation is very low, and it becomes increasingly problematic the longer one lives on it. But I also want to point out something regarding the compensation that Annika Hirvonen is standing here and denouncing. This was not something her own party chose to adjust upwards during the time they held government power.
As mentioned, an intensive work is underway, and the government will return as soon as possible.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.