Response to interpellation 2022/23:70 on price increases on Gotlandstrafik
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD assumes that Trafikverket ensures quality and frequency of service in the next procurement. KD argues that the government has proposed 200 million kronor for fuel compensation, that the highway is a lifeline for total defense 1 and that the minister cannot micro-manage contracts without risk of ministerial rule 1. KD argues that the government has added funds and that constructive dialogue is important 2 for all of Sweden to function 3. S argues that Gotland deserves infrastructure on par with the rest of the country 4, that the price increases are unreasonable 4, that the budget funds do not compensate the people of Gotland 4 and that the government lets them bear the burden alone 5. S believes that the government must use the entire toolbox 6. M argues that the state takes responsibility by covering half of the fuel cost 7, that it is good that the government adds 200 million kronor 7 and that future procurements shall maintain the standard 7. M argues that the government does what it can to lower prices 8.
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 Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Hanna Westerén has asked me, partly, what measures I intend to take so that the next procurement of the rail traffic to Gotland better fulfills the transport policy goals and provides reasonable conditions on the road to Gotland, and partly, what measures I plan to take to compensate the residents of Gotland for the exceptional price increases in Gotlandstrafiken.
The scheduled transport to Gotland shall provide accessibility for the population on Gotland and is also a prerequisite for the Gotlandic business community to continue to be able to develop. The scheduled transport also constitutes a link in the total defense's operations. I assume that Trafikverket, in the upcoming procurement of the scheduled transport to Gotland, ensures that the conditions in the agreement achieve the quality and the frequency of service required to maintain accessibility at a satisfactory level.
Sweden is in a situation where the finances of households and companies are being pressured hard by, among other things, high prices on fuels. The government has therefore, in the autumn budget revision for 2022, proposed that 200 million kronor shall be allocated in 2022 to compensate Destination Gotland for the increased fuel prices in accordance with the agreements that have been signed between Trafikverket and the company. Even in the budget bill for 2023, 50 million kronor have been preliminarily allocated for the same purpose. It is a challenging time that lies ahead of us, and I am closely following the development of events.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! I would first like to thank the Minister for the answer, even though its content leaves a great deal to be desired. I also venture to say something that should be obvious but deserves to be repeated: Gotland is a part of Sweden, our country's only island region. Gotland deserves an infrastructure on par with the rest of the country, and the people of Gotland have the right to travel along our land route across the sea on reasonable terms at a reasonable cost.
Costs are increasing for all Swedes right now, but for the people of Gotland, the price of using the main road has risen by nearly 50 percent in a year. It is simply unreasonable. In recent years, Gotland's population has gladly increased steadily, in contrast to how it is in many other rural regions in the world. And just like the rest of Sweden and Europe, Gotland has fought its way through the consequences of the pandemic when it comes to life, health, and economy.
Now, the effects of the war and the rising inflation are hitting our region hard. To be faced with catastrophically high price increases in Gotlandstrafiken in that situation adds insult to injury in an already difficult time and has directly tangible consequences. The increased ticket prices threaten jobs, competitiveness, and growth, and endanger the very influx of residents that we are dependent on. But they also demonstrate the unsustainability of the price for using the road network having risen by nearly 50 percent in a year.
The current agreement has resulted in high standards, secure transports, and good frequency. It is, however, an agreement that was struck in a completely different time. It is an agreement that does not take into account the difficult situation we see right now. In the next agreement, a greater common and state responsibility must be taken to hold the country together and not let the people of Gotland bear the economic risk of the unrest in the world. It cannot be that a part of Sweden has to bear an unreasonably large part of the burden.
I take with some optimism part of the Minister's reasoning regarding upcoming agreements but am astonished by the answer regarding compensation. I do not know whether it is insufficient underlying data or dodging of responsibility that prompts a reference to budget funds - 200 million and 50 million respectively. Those funds are intended to compensate Destination Gotland. There is not a word about compensation to the people of Gotland. To be crystal clear: It is therefore an addition in current agreements and entails no - I repeat "no" - difference in the ticket prices that have been announced for next year. The funds in question may indeed mean that the price does not become even higher, but that, Madam Speaker, is actually a dishonest argument.
Now the entire cost is being shifted onto the people of Gotland and onto the companies. In Gotlands Tidningar today, the Minister states that they have done what they can. Trafikverket argues that it is possible to compensate without jeopardizing the agreed agreement. It is difficult but not impossible. Why does the Minister not take that chance?
Madam Speaker! The work on the next agreement is ongoing at this moment. It is politics that governs, that sets the framework and that decides whether we can hold our country together or not. The former Minister for Infrastructure, Tomas Eneroth, was well acquainted with the Gotlandic positions and clear that great consideration should be taken of the Gotlandic needs. Traffic to and from Gotland shall be simple, sustainable, affordable, and fast. Is the Minister for Infrastructure prepared to make the same pledge? Is he acquainted with the Gotlandic positions? Can we trust the Minister for Infrastructure?
Jesper Skalberg Karlsson (M)
Madam Speaker! Thanks to the Minister for the debate; thanks also to Hanna Westerén, who has initiated it!
Gotland is Sweden's only pure rural region and a part of Sweden. Sweden is a country, not a company, and therefore individual rural areas cannot be shut down like a department of a company that one thinks costs too much. The state naturally needs to take responsibility so that the country stays together and can develop at the same pace. As Hanna Westerén also mentions, Region Gotland has seen an increasing population over the recent years, and I do not believe that would have been possible without competitive transport to and from Gotland.
The state takes responsibility for Gotland's development through the agreement that Trafikverket has with Destination Gotland, which operates the scheduled traffic to and from the island. There are many factors in that agreement, but one of the more important is that the state covers half the cost of the fuel. That is good. But gas prices have been volatile and high in recent years. Already during last year they soared, and in February this year they tripled from an already high level, not least as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Still, there was no money in the previous government's spring budget. The costs to maintain the traffic had increased by approximately 100 million kronor, but for this, there was only a hole of 100 million in Trafikverket's budget.
I think it is good that the new government is doing what it can to ensure that the state now does its part. 200 million kronor are added for the current year to maintain the funding of Gotlandstrafiken and to do what the state has committed to in the agreement.
Yesterday, I also asked a question to the Minister for Energy and Business, Ebba Busch, here in the chamber. She informed that when we others go on Christmas holiday, she will participate in two ministerial council meetings in the EU to also, in the long term, try to bring down the prices on gas. That is good.
It is important that the state does its part. We Gotlanders are tired of hearing proposals every ten years in connection with new procurements that imply that the speed and standard should be lowered. As Hanna Westerén also explained, Gotland has been a Swedish island for several hundred years, and we continue to have the geographical challenges that we have always had. Therefore, it is difficult that one so often needs to explain to the politicians that we continue to be where we are.
Much can be said about the upcoming procurement. I believe it is important to establish that it shall be the same standard as now, or better, even in the future. But there is also a challenge in that much regarding the new procurement has already been established during the previous parliamentary term and Trafikverket's work then. As we now head in for landing, it is also a question of how much a minister can actually intervene in an ongoing matter without being accused of ministerial rule and having to spend some weeks in the KU.
Regardless of this, it is however pleasing that the government has taken this issue seriously. With the state budget for 2023, there are also safeguards for Sweden if the economic downturn deepens. It is well-balanced, and I look forward to continuing to discuss Gotland's conditions so that through dialogue and conversation we can ensure that Gotland continues to be as competitive and accessible as the rest of Sweden.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! This is an issue where it is important to have good dialogue and to find solutions in a constructive spirit. This concerns a national road that is a lifeline and an important stretch not only for Gotland but also for the entire mainland from total defense policy and also food supply reasons, since Gotland has many important green industries and food producers on the island. This I mentioned in my response.
It was in that spirit that I had a meeting yesterday with the delegation that was in Stockholm from the region. In the media, I saw that they would be in the transport committee and I personally contacted our Christian Democratic representative in the regional board. We managed to have a meeting in a good spirit. The entire presidium, the regional board, the regional director, representatives for LRF Gotland and Tillväxt Gotland were at the meeting.
To answer the interpellator's question, I am well acquainted with the Gotlandic positions and also think it is a strength that there is a broad consensus across party lines on Gotland regarding this. Quality is important, and that is why I say that I assume that Trafikverket, in the upcoming procurement of the route traffic to Gotland, ensures that the terms in the agreement achieve the quality in the form of, among other things, fast boats and the frequency of service required to maintain availability at a satisfactory level, while at the same time the agreement contributes to the transport policy goals and the climate goals. Gotland should be three hours and not five hours away.
Just as Jesper Skalberg Karlsson is pointing out, an opposition can encourage a minister to step in and micro-manage and try to rectify entered contracts, or however one wants to see it from an opposition perspective. But the day you do that, the same opposition or another part of the opposition will be able to direct very strong criticism towards you, precisely because you are exceeding your powers as a minister.
That is why it is so important to establish that it is Trafikverket that both owns and has signed the agreement with Destination Gotland. They cannot make just any adjustments to the current agreement, as it could mean that the entire procurement would then need to be redone.
At the meeting with the Gotlandic delegation, which was led by Hanna Westerén's party colleague Meit Fohlin, the chairman of the regional board on Gotland, I received information from her and from the delegation that they have good dialogue and established contact with Trafikverket both within current agreements and perhaps above all in the work with upcoming agreements and the procurement of them. Naturally, price and fuel cost issues will then be actualized in order to be able to handle situations like the current one in a way that means the goals of the agreements are maintained. That is my assumption.
I have been in contact with Destination Gotland, and I have personally spoken with the Governor of Gotland. He, as well as Jesper Skalberg Karlsson and also the delegation yesterday, has invited me to Gotland. I look forward to continued talks in this debate but also to continued dialogue moving forward.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister speaks here today about the whole country and the importance of staying together. He also said, in connection with his appointment, that the government he is part of intends to pursue a policy for the whole country.
I think we have developed a certain habit of the government perhaps saying one thing before the election and then doing something completely different after the election. But I must still ask: Is Gotland not part of the whole country? In the name of honesty, Madam Speaker, the fact is that none of the admittedly flawed fuel subsidies that the government is now rolling out reach those road users who use the sea as their highway.
We Gotland residents cannot take the car to the mainland. Our companies cannot shift the transports over to the railway. The ferry traffic is our lifeblood. To refer to that funds are being added to fulfill an already entered agreement is deeply insufficient, Madam Speaker, and does not answer the question of how Sweden can hold together if the differences between the modes of transport become this large. Fuel support shall be issued to travel between, for example, Mullsjö and Mariestad but not to travel between Visby and Oskarshamn. That responsibility is the government's.
There are actually more perspectives to consider that have also been raised here previously, including the total defense policy perspective. Gotland is a part of Sweden and not insignificant, given our geographical location. Therefore, I think it is remarkable that more effort is not devoted to securing the important infrastructure to and from Gotland. It is to play a high-stakes game with consequences that do not only endanger Gotland but the entire country.
The perspective that the whole country should also be emphasized in a regional policy sense. The responsibility rests heavily on every government to use the entire toolbox wisely to hold together our wonderful country and promote healthy competition and fair distribution between the regions.
Securing the infrastructure and thereby promoting supply capacity, jobs, competitiveness, and growth is a wise path to take. How does the Minister believe Gotland's total defense policy role can be strengthened when the infrastructure is so clearly jeopardized? How can the whole country live if a part of the country is left to bear enormous cost increases in order to be able to travel to and from that part of the country and also to conduct business activities on Sweden's largest island?
Madam Speaker! Sweden has transport policy goals concerning important common utilities in terms of functionality, climate footprint, and delivery. The price increases in Gotlandstrafiken are reasonably in direct conflict with the transport policy goals, and it must come to an end. Gotland cannot time and again come to the state power with its hat in hand and plead for decent conditions to be allowed to travel our way across the sea. I would truly wish that Andreas Carlson were prepared to join in uniting political Sweden to ensure that the price increases cease now.
The next procurement must be more accurate and ensure that Gotland's vital infrastructure actually creates fair conditions for Gotland both in the long and in the short term.
Jesper Skalberg Karlsson (M)
Madam Speaker! It becomes clear in the debate that many are doing what they can to avoid the situation with high ticket prices in Gotlandstrafiken. I shall mention a few.
The Minister for Finance has presented 200 million to Gotlandstrafiken during the current year. The Minister for Enterprise has traveled to the ministerial meetings in Brussels to lower gas prices at the EU level. The Minister for Defence has presented a winter package to Ukraine so that we can put an end to the terrible war, which also affects us in Sweden economically when prices for LNG skyrocket. The Minister for Infrastructure has met with both a delegation from Region Gotland and also spoken with representatives for Destination Gotland. Destination Gotland has, in turn, during the year switched fuel from expensive LNG to quite expensive but not as expensive gasoil as a way to reduce fuel costs.
With this enumeration, Madam Speaker, I want to say that no one likes the situation prevailing with the high fuel prices and thus the high ticket prices. But it is welcome that we see a broad collection in the government, in the opposition, and also among those who traffic the line Gotland-Nynäshamn-Oskarshamn doing what they can so that the passengers are protected from the high prices, which could have been even higher if not everyone did what they could.
Finally, I want to say to Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson that my invitation to Gotland stands. It is sincerely intended. There will always be many Gotlanders, myself included, who want to talk to the government about Gotland's conditions in a way that moves us forward through dialogue and conversation. In that context, one must also say that Gotland is just as beautiful in the winter and spring as it is in the summer.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! How the government will act is the question that remains in Hanna Westerén's post. It is true that the government has added funds. They will not come by themselves, but this is based on them being included in the budget and that decisions are made to honor the agreement that exists.
Political points can be made. I understand that there can be a value in a political debate in trying to highlight the party-political differences and bring out the political rhetoric. To get things moving, it is rather a matter of a constructive dialogue, which I myself had yesterday with representatives from the entire political field. Not all political parties were present at the meeting; instead, it was the regional board's presidium, the regional director, and those I have mentioned earlier. We reasoned together about needs and possible ways forward. This is more important and has a significantly better place right now in this situation, that is to say, based on the dialogue that Jesper Skalberg Karlsson and I have had where the priorities and needs emerge with very great clarity. No one can doubt his commitment and interest in finding a solution.
If one wants to continue to take the political path, one can point out that Trafikverket signed the agreement during the previous government.
I will not go there today. We must have a constructive tone in this. That is why I have said, Madam Speaker, that I assume that Trafikverket, which signs the agreement, in the work with the upcoming procurement will actualize price and fuel costs in a new way in order to be able to handle a situation like the current one, which means that the goals of the agreement are maintained.
If one had wanted to polarize and have a partisan debate, other debaters could have signed up for the chamber debate and asked what the previous government did to ensure that those intentions formed the basis for the previous agreement. But no one has done that. It honors Jesper Skalberg Karlsson and many others in the debate, and we shall take that as the starting point for the continued dialogue.
The very tough economic situation affects everyone in Sweden in different ways, affects the people of Gotland, and has an impact on companies and households. The current situation is exceptional when it comes to fuel prices. That is why we stand here today and discuss the issue. But how shall we move forward? The Government has, in this situation, made these decisions to honor the agreement, but there is an expectation that, before procurement and work on the next agreement, such situations should also be taken into account.
It is Trafikverket that owns the agreement. That is clear. It is also therefore important that the region has a dialogue with just Trafikverket.
I look forward to visiting the island, and I thank Jesper Skalberg Karlsson for repeating the invitation. I can probably give a promise that we will not have to wait until the summer before we see each other on Gotland.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! If the Minister content themselves with referring to the funds available in the agreement, in the midst of a cost crisis that could not have been foreseen when the agreement was signed, the Minister also content themselves with that the people of Gotland shall have to accept that the price to travel on our highway for a year rises by nearly 50 percent. No relief is in sight. That is how I perceive the announcement.
Madam Speaker! The ceiling has not been reached. More price increases could be the case. I understand that it is the Minister's, and thus the Government's, message to the people of Gotland that no compensation is to be expected. That means, then, that the people of Gotland shall alone bear the burden of the increasing prices. I think that is unjust.
In 2027, a new agreement will enter into force, and I would like to once again request the ambitions from the Minister and the Government. I lack the answers regarding the ambitions.
I know that a Gotlandic delegation has met the Riksdag's Committee on Transport and the Minister himself in very recent times. They have been clear about the Gotlandic positions and highlighted the catastrophic consequences of the price increases. And I find it remarkable that the ambitions I have heard so far are so low instead of telling that the policy rules. The compensation that is paid out goes to the company, not to the people of Gotland.
I have not heard a word about the price level. I have not heard a word about how we are to manage this together. I heard something about a government for the whole country, but Gotland is obviously not included there. It is clear but nevertheless shameful.
From Gotland's side, the last word has not been said - I can vouch for that. Gotland deserves incredibly much better than that.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Hanna Westerén, for the commitment!
I have been clear: being able to travel to and from Gotland on reasonable terms is of the utmost importance. The scheduled traffic is both the road and the lifeline for Gotland. It is about the possibility of traveling to and from the mainland. It is about the conditions for the important flows of visitors, and it is about the supply of goods to and from the mainland. It is about total defense. It is about the degree of self-sufficiency. It is about important values that the government, of course, prioritizes.
It is also, as Hanna Westerén has pointed out, about geography. But I think it becomes almost a bit ridiculous to stand in the chamber and be asked for an answer on whether I think Gotland belongs to the country or not. It is obvious. But if it is the case that Hanna Westerén needs an answer to that question, I will answer it.
When we say that all of Sweden shall function, it does not mean that we exclude Gotland. If it makes it easier for Hanna Westerén to understand the message, I shall say that all of Sweden, which includes Gotland, shall function.
That is why the work ahead of the upcoming contract period is so important. That is also why the constructive spirit I encountered when I met the delegation yesterday is important, and that is the starting point rather than pointing at different initiatives historically. Then I could have held the previous government responsible, but I do not intend to do that.
Now we have an exceptional situation. We have a tough winter ahead of us with an economic situation that hits broadly across the entire country. That also includes Gotland. I have great sympathy for this, because it is a challenging time that we are in and will face. That is why it is important for the government to work so that all of Sweden functions.
I assume that Trafikverket takes this into account in the work with the new agreement. That work has begun.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.