Response to interpellation 2023/24:468 on the Swedish flag in the procurement of Gotlandstrafiken
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns requirements for the Swedish flag in the procurement of the Gotland transport. KD argues that Trafikverket cannot impose requirements for the Swedish flag due to the EU's cabotage regulation 1, but that the security policy situation must be taken into account and that bidders must be prepared for security protection agreements 1 2 3. KD wants to strengthen readiness and increase the flagging of Swedish vessels 4. The Government emphasizes that the authority is responsible for taking the security situation into account 1 2. S argues that Gotland is a strategic point and that security gaps must be closed 5 6 7. S believes that special legislation within the EU should be used to secure maritime transport 8 9.
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! Heléne Björklund has asked me if I and the government intend to take general initiatives to enable requirements for the Swedish flag in the procurement of the Gotland traffic. Heléne Björklund has further asked me if I, within my area of responsibility, and the government have taken any other measures to close security gaps. Finally, Heléne Björklund has asked me if I, within my area of responsibility, and the government have taken any measures so that Gotland's residents, visitors, and businesses can feel secure when the ships go into international waters between Gotland and the mainland.
The Government has the ambition to strengthen Swedish shipping's competitiveness and the Swedish preparedness. I therefore appreciate that Heléne Björklund raises this important issue.
Trafikverket has been tasked to enter into and be responsible for the state's agreements on scheduled shipping to and from Gotland. The scheduled shipping to and from Gotland is covered by the EU's so-called cabotage regulation, which enables Trafikverket to procure the traffic. The cabotage regulation does, however, give all shipping companies within the EU the right to submit tenders. Trafikverket cannot set requirements that the ships performing the traffic must have a Swedish flag.
However, Trafikverket's agreements are designed so that the bidders must be prepared for the fact that the Swedish Armed Forces may request a security agreement, since the Swedish Armed Forces also utilize the ferry traffic between Gotland and mainland Sweden.
According to the Authority Ordinance (2007:515), the authority's management is responsible to the government for the operations and shall ensure that they are conducted efficiently and in accordance with applicable law and that the security policy situation is taken into account in that work.
Heléne Björklund (S)
Madam Speaker! The security situation in Europe is worse than it has been in a long time. The developments occurring in several parts of the world contribute to increased instability. Our Baltic Sea is no exception. Navy Chief Ewa Skoog Haslum has quite recently stated that merchant ships and ferries, for example within the Gotland traffic, are particularly vulnerable targets for attacks or hostile actions. I submitted my interpellation to Defense Minister Pål Jonson, because it is his area of responsibility that my questions concern. But instead, it is Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson who today must account for the government's ambitions and actions in these matters. I am grateful that the minister is here.
We in the Committee on Defence have met with the Director General of the Transport Administration several times to discuss the procurement and, before the procurement period expires, to ensure that requirements for the Swedish flag have been set and that necessary security measures have been taken. We have not received answers that have made us feel secure, and that is why I have submitted this interpellation. We have stated that the state must intervene and guarantee long-term, secure, and safe accessibility to and from Gotland and that the security gaps must be closed.
Just as the Minister says, the Swedish Transport Administration does not consider itself to have the possibility to demand a Swedish flag in the procurement because one would then have to state specific reasons. My question is: If the current security situation does not constitute specific reasons, when would such reasons exist? The Armed Forces have warned that it cannot or may not assist a foreign-flagged vessel in the event of a threat if the vessel is in international waters and a state of war does not prevail. This means in plain language that if a terror threat were directed towards a ferry in the Gotland traffic with a foreign flag on the way between Visby and Oskarshamn or Nynäshamn, the Armed Forces would not have the mandate to act. Even when there is a real risk that this could happen, one has still not referred to having specific reasons.
Thus, my first questions are: How does the government view this serious observation? If the situation is not currently a special security situation to request exemptions from the procurement rules, when is it?
Mattias Ottosson (S)
Madam Speaker! The significantly deteriorated security situation in Europe and especially around the Baltic Sea has made the issue so relevant. It has resulted in us in the Committee on Transport having, on several occasions, had a dialogue with Trafikverket regarding our concern over how the procurement of Gotlandstrafiken is proceeding.
I will describe it in this way: the first time we met Trafikverket, I asked a lot of questions about this and whether it was possible to bypass the procurement in some way and do a direct procurement. They did not know and had no answer, and they were going to get back to us.
That was done after a while. The answer I received was that there was a clear mandate. It was not possible to do it in any other way. It was a clear directive from the government's side. I do not experience it that way. There is something called essential security interests that one could claim in this case.
I have also submitted a written question to the Minister and received the answer that it is not possible. It shall be handled in such a way that it must be procured, but that the Armed Forces can set certain requirements.
It is good that we can now also discuss the issue orally. What concerns me greatly is that Gotland is a strategic island in the Baltic Sea. It is naturally extremely important that the security of supply functions for those who live, work, and operate there.
But it is also an important strategic point for the Armed Forces and our allies. Whoever controls Gotland also controls the Baltic Sea and what happens and occurs. It is a matter of our security and our allies' security to be able to supply Gotland in times of crisis.
Member of the Board Heléne Björklund from Blekinge has clearly declared what the regulatory framework looks like. There is a question that I want to ask the Minister. It concerns the fact that there is Article 346 in the EU Treaty which handles essential security interests.
It is nothing that is foreign to the government. We already apply that exception in the legislation today when it concerns combat air capability, underwater capability, and certain areas within the command area.
It clearly states in the article that high supply security requirements can also be grounds for being of significant security interest, and one could perform a direct procurement.
If there is anything in Sweden that I claim is of such significance that it requires high-level security of supply requirements, it is the supply of Gotland.
It is somewhat surprising that the government has not handled it as such. My question to the Minister is still: Have you looked into this? Could you use the exception so that we can secure the safe ferry connection with Gotland in crises and in war?
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Heléne Björklund, for raising this question in the chamber! It is immensely pleasing for me as a Gotlander when more members than I myself discuss issues concerning Gotland. It reminds me that there are those who believe that we are a part of Sweden, and that warms my heart.
This is a question that is discussed very actively at home. It also spreads a great deal of concern that this element of uncertainty exists and that one cannot get full guarantees for what applies in the event of a crisis or war.
The security policy situation has changed and significantly deteriorated in recent years. Gotland lies, as Mattias Ottosson just highlighted, truly in the line of fire. That is what I want to be taken seriously.
Gotlandstrafiken is our highway. I know it has been said many times, but it deserves to be said again. It is our highway and our lifeblood, and it is our way across the sea. It must be safe and secure. We must have guarantees for our safe travel and our safe transports. We need guarantees for long-term sustainable and safe conditions.
Heléne Björklund asked pointedly: If it is not a special situation now, when is it then? That is exactly the question that I would also like to center on here. I do not understand how one can judge the timing to claim that special reasons would be better at some other time.
It runs contrary to the consensus that I nevertheless perceive exists in quite large parts of Sweden's Riksdag regarding Gotland's strategic position, the need to secure and build up the Total Defence, and to close the gaps that exist.
Here we have a gap and an opportunity to close it. It is about making Gotland's transport safer and more secure. It must work. All that we are doing now, all the reconstruction we are carrying out and all the resilience we are building together must hang together, and the gaps must be closed. It must work.
Gotlandstrafiken is particularly vulnerable. In that case, I cannot for my life understand why there is such a reluctance to invoke special reasons. I would very much like to receive a developed reasoning regarding that argumentation.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I want to thank you for the commitment to an important issue and emphasize that there is a great consensus on Gotland's strategic location and the significance for Gotland itself, but also on Gotland's significance for our common security policy, not only in Sweden but also as a NATO member. It is absolutely connected, as Hanna Westerén points out.
Let me nevertheless remind you of what appears in the very clear agency ordinance. The agency's management is responsible to the government for the operations and shall ensure that they are conducted efficiently and in accordance with applicable law and that the security policy situation is taken into account in that work.
It is of course important. That is my expectation of all agencies and also agencies undergoing ongoing procurements. But it does not fall upon an individual minister or the government to comment in detail on ongoing procurements. That, of course, lies with the agency. Then we are back to what the agency's management has responsibility for. There, it is clear that the security policy situation shall be taken into account in the work.
Madam Speaker! It is also as I said in my response that the bidders must be prepared for the fact that the Armed Forces may request a security agreement. It is a very important part of the procurement. It is, of course, important to strengthen security in general in the Baltic Sea.
That is why it is a very positive message that we are now finally members of Nato. It strengthens our security in Sweden, but we also contribute to security and safety in the Baltic Sea. In the ongoing procurement, security policy shall be taken into account.
Madam Speaker! Let me also tell you about what the government is doing to strengthen the competitiveness of shipping. That is also an important part of the issue. It is important that we have more Swedish-flagged vessels. In that regard, the government has taken measures, received an investigation that it itself has commissioned, and in a fairly short time, produced proposals on stamp duty and tonnage tax.
We have made changes in the education that make it more flexible in order to strengthen Swedish shipping's competitiveness and thus also our preparedness. They are connected, just as Hanna Westerén said. It is an important announcement.
I want to be clear that the security policy aspects shall, of course, be taken into account in the agency's work. If there is any time that it is urgent, it is of course now, Madam Speaker.
Heléne Björklund (S)
Madam Speaker! As Hanna Westerén pointed out, this is a proper debate on Gotland, among the residents there, but also in the rest of the country. We see that this has an impact.
A man points out: If this, in this procurement, were to go to a ship that is registered in another country, that country could, purely hypothetically, call home its ferry in a war situation. In the same way, it is if one does not have Swedish personnel on the ship. The personnel could then also be called home to another country in a war danger, even though we are now allies.
One can, of course, dismiss this as hypothetical questions, but the government has on several occasions come out and said that it could become a sharp situation and that it could become so faster than we understand. Then, in a procurement, one must factor in all the horrible and terrible hypothetical situations, and it is the Swedish state that must ensure that one has security even on international waters.
I did not feel that I received an answer to the question: If not now, when? We believe that Gotlandstrafiken needs to have both a Swedish flag and a Swedish crew for us to feel safety and security regarding the issues that I raised earlier. I will not take up time by repeating them.
But I want to ask a new question. If the government now did not consider this occasion to be serious enough to request special reasons, my question is: Does the government intend to pursue this in the EU? There, one can perhaps stretch or test the legislation, and one can also influence the legislation. A large part of Europe is in a very special situation. It is not just Sweden and Gotland. Possibly, one can pursue the issue in the EU. My question to the Minister becomes: Does the government intend to do so?
Mattias Ottosson (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister touched upon the investigation concerning the tonnage tax system and the work to get more Swedish-flagged vessels. It is extremely important that this falls into place. However, there is a serious problem in the investigator's proposal. It concerns the fact that liner traffic between Swedish ports should not be covered by the tonnage tax system. This means that it is much cheaper for foreign-flagged vessels to travel here. In that way, the competitive opportunities for Swedish vessels are worsened when it comes to working on that line. There, I really hope that the government will present a different proposal in the bill that is to come.
I shall return to the ongoing procurement of Gotlandstrafiken. Even though the Armed Forces write protection agreements, so to speak, it is extremely important that it is a Swedish flag. Several members have clarified why it is important. If it is not a Swedish flag and the ship is attacked in international waters, the Swedish Armed Forces may not rescue the ship. It is clear that it is extremely serious, and it does not facilitate the security of supply for Gotland.
I received no answer to the question that I think is perhaps the most essential here. It concerns this matter of there being an exception in the EU Treaty if it concerns essential security interests. I think it would be very positive if I could get an answer to that question. I think, namely, that this is one of the few cases where one really should deviate from this and use the special legislation that exists within the EU in order to be able to secure sea transport to Gotland in crisis and war.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! I heard Andreas Carlson, the Minister for Infrastructure, say that the security policy situation should be taken into account. Given the situation we are currently in, I am of the opinion that it simply is not enough. There is room to invoke special reasons, and I still do not understand why it is not being done. I honestly do not want to go home to Gotland tonight with this incomplete information.
The Swedish state shall, as Heléne Björklund pointed out, ensure safety on our roads. This should include the sea. Gotland traffic is, as we have already established, particularly vulnerable. The possibility exists to invoke special reasons. Why is the chance not taken? What is it that one is waiting for? Why does one let this happen on its shift when so much else is being done?
Just as the Minister for Infrastructure himself noted, an enormous amount of other things are being done to plug gaps, increase our resilience, make us stronger together and make things hang together. But here, we are leaving the gap open, for reasons that are completely incomprehensible to me. I have heard the Minister for Infrastructure when he has stood here and spoken, but it is impossible to grasp what the reason is for not invoking special reasons.
I mean that this is concerningly flawed, and it is spreading anxiety on Gotland.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! That the security policy situation is such that it matters and that the security policy situation shall be taken into account is self-evident.
I appreciate the commitment to this pressing issue. I am fully convinced that we want the same thing, as expressed by Mattias Ottosson: securing maritime transport in crisis and war. This is, of course, very important in the procurement that is now underway. The tender period expired this week.
I believe the members have respect for the fact that it does not fall upon an individual minister or the government to comment in an overly detailed manner during ongoing procurements for which an agency is responsible. But I can state what has emerged from Gotland's media both today and yesterday: The Danish shipping company Molslinjen has not submitted any bid. They state this to helagotland.se. The reason is stated to be the profit cap of 22 percent, which Trafikverket has set. It also appears from the media reporting that Molslinjen is the only shipping company, alongside Destination Gotland, that has openly shown interest in Gotlandstrafiken.
Madam Speaker! Now that the tender period has expired, I want to repeat what I have said previously: that the security policy situation must be taken into account, that bidders must be prepared to sign agreements with the Armed Forces, that this is an important part of the work to strengthen our robustness and preparedness, and that it is important to secure safety in the Baltic Sea. Our Nato membership, of course, contributes to further increasing safety because we no longer stand alone in this. We have not done that previously either. We have had clear allies. But the Baltic Sea is a very strategically important inland sea even for Nato.
Madam Speaker! With this, I hope that the members are fully assured that the government takes this seriously, that security policy reasons shall be taken into account, and that we with confidence will be able to see a robust and secure traffic flow on the important route between Gotland and the mainland.
Heléne Björklund (S)
Madam Speaker! I will not fill my speaking time just for the sake of filling it, and I will not repeat the questions. I am not entirely satisfied with how things have been handled here, as the point has been made for a long time. But I understand the challenge.
My hope is that we – government, parliament, and our Members of the European Parliament – will work together moving forward and dare to push these issues in the EU, because we are truly in a vulnerable and special situation. Then procurement rules cannot be as they have always been, I mean, and it absolutely cannot be that the lowest price wins in such an important issue. My hope is that we can trust what the Minister of State says here and that we can agree to continue pushing the issue.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank you for the commitment and the understanding. There is no dividing line in principle, rather we want to strengthen the controllability over Swedish shipping. That is why the government is working step by step to increase the flagging of Swedish ships. That is the ambition, and it is the direction of the work.
Mattias Ottosson raised the investigation and the proposals regarding the tonnage tax. Let me say that the proposals are being prepared in the Government Offices, and I look forward to returning with the government's proposals. The direction will be to strengthen Swedish shipping. The security policy situation requires it, and it has been an area, I dare say, partially neglected where it is now important to have a high tempo. I appreciate the consensus that exists in the Swedish Riksdag and where Swedish shipping is and will be very important for many different reasons, not least from the perspective of robustness and preparedness.
Thank you for the important debate!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.