Response to interpellation 2023/24:490 on support for commercial services in rural areas
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns support for commercial services in rural areas and whether competition is on equal terms. S considers the current system unfair because cooperative stores, which share an organization number, are forced to share the support while stores in competing chains can receive full amounts per legal entity 1 2. S argues that the government should influence the EU to change the rules and highlights the importance of cooperation for social development 2. KD argues that the supports are governed by EU-wide rules that are difficult to change in the near term 3. KD emphasizes that all Coop stores that meet the criteria receive support and that the government is working for a robust countryside 4 3 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! Gunilla Svantorp has asked me if I intend to change the system so that competition on equal terms will continue to prevail for the operating subsidies and investment grants that are so important for an open and vibrant countryside, and when we will, in that case, see a change in the regulatory framework.
Quite exactly one month ago, I answered a written question from Gunilla Svantorp in which she asked exactly the same question as in this interpellation. Let me therefore once again underline that access to commercial services in the form of grocery stores and gas stations is one of the prerequisites for it to be possible to live, work and reside in all parts of the country. There are therefore a number of different state supports for grocery stores and gas stations that can be decided by the regions and Gotlands kommun with the support of the ordinance (2000:284) on support for commercial service.
Subsidies for commercial services are so-called state aid, and the regulations are EU-common. This means, among other things, that the total sum of all subsidies to commercial service—investment subsidies, service grants, and operating subsidies—may not exceed a certain amount over a three-year period. This applies regardless of whether it is a company or an organization applying for subsidies. If an organization, for example a Co-operative, has several stores and applies for several different subsidies, the total sum of all subsidies to the organization is therefore counted.
The government has a clear rural focus, and we are working purposefully to improve the conditions for all those who live, work, and operate in Sweden's rural areas.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister very much for the answer, but the fact that I was forced to submit an interpellation is enough for everyone to understand that I am not particularly satisfied with the Minister's answer. I do not think that he, neither in the answer to the written question nor in the answer to the interpellation, answers my question.
My question concerns competition on equal terms. It concerns an operating and investment support for commercial services in rural areas that one can apply for, and the catch is that the support is linked to the organization number of the business.
In Sweden, as well as in other countries, there are different forms of business today. The cooperative activity of Konsumentföreningarna has one and the same organization number for all stores, while others – for example, Icabutiker – do not. The example I took up both in my written question and in the interpellation is the following: If six Icabutiker apply for the support, each store receives a maximum amount if they fulfill the conditions, while the six cooperative stores that apply have to share the sum in question because they constitute a single legal entity.
My written question and the interpellation were about exactly this injustice. Does the Minister consider this to be competition on equal terms? If not, does the Minister intend to try to do something to change it? One can say that this is an EU issue, but we also have the Council of Ministers. As was mentioned in a previous interpellation, one can go to the EU and try to exert influence. In that case, it is very important to point out what is unique to Sweden and that Sweden looks the way it does and has a large countryside where it is far to certain shops.
The operating and investment support can be what determines whether a shop continues to exist or not. It is also not just about one shop. All of us who live in the countryside know that the shop is not just a shop but also a meeting place, a collection point for the pharmacy, and a place where one learns to manage digital services. The shop is simply a meeting place for the village, and therefore it is much more than just a place where one goes to buy milk or whatever it is one does.
How can the Minister not answer the question but instead refer to how the system looks? I know how the system looks; that is why I asked a question that I did not receive an answer to. It is also why I now want to hear if the Minister thinks this is competition on equal terms.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I share Gunilla Svantorp's commitment to the countryside and its conditions. Gunilla Svantorp and I also have the same view on the importance of local commercial services throughout the country.
I asked Tillväxtverket, our national authority responsible for this area, for information regarding Coop ahead of this interpellation debate. They responded that all Coop stores that meet the criteria to receive special operating support have received special operating support. This includes those Coop stores that are at a distance of more than ten kilometers to the nearest store or are located on an island and have a turnover of daily goods of under 11 million kronor annually.
So far, the provisions for support have not meant that any Coop store has been unable to receive special operating support. A recurring point of view is, however, that Coop associations are disadvantaged when it comes to the possibility of being granted state support according to the previously mentioned ordinance on support for commercial service. This primarily concerns the investment support.
This point of view is based on the fact that the right to support depends on how the Cooperatories are organized. If a cooperative has several stores, all are considered to be covered by the same cooperative, and all support is then counted together. This means, among other things, that the total sum of all support for commercial service—investment support, service grants, and operating support—may not exceed a certain amount over a three-year period. This applies regardless of whether it is a company applying for support, which we do have examples of, or whether it concerns an organization, for example, a Cooperatorium. For those who have several stores and apply for several different types of support, the total sum of all support received is therefore counted.
As I described in my interpellation answer, the subsidies to commercial services are covered by EU-wide regulations. These are regulations which, among other things, shall prevent competition on unfair terms.
Illegal support can lead to clawbacks and, in the worst case, bankruptcies. Therefore, it is important that we follow the regulations that exist at both the national level and the EU level.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you very much, Minister, for the answer!
The question remains, however. The Minister just said that all Coop stores that are eligible to apply have received support, but that is not the question at issue. These stores have received support up to the maximum ceiling that they have had to share. In a competing chain where everyone is their own legal entity, each legal entity has received support up to the ceiling, because there, the total is not combined. What the Minister just said was interpretable, but that is how it is. If six in a competing chain are separate legal entities, they can receive up to the maximum ceiling if they meet the conditions. In that case, they receive six times more than the Coop stores do. This is still the big question, and I do not think the Minister answered it.
If I step back a bit and consider the situation we find ourselves in now, that is, the security policy situation, I can also refer to Tillväxtverket. In April 2021, a report was produced where they looked at what happened during the pandemic. They focused specifically on commercial service and showed that this provides a more robust society.
A brief summary of a very good report is that the pandemic taught us that shops in rural areas are important for crisis preparedness. One could then think that it should be more important to try to change the rules so that shops that have chosen to be cooperative and which are a single legal entity are not forced to close because the system cannot be corrected so that there is competition on equal terms.
I still cannot think that it is competition on equal terms. What the Minister actually says is that the Coop stores should be their own legal entities, but that is not how the cooperation is structured. The Minister should think that this is an interesting issue to take back to the EU to show what the cooperation is, how it has arisen and why it is important that it is allowed to continue and is allowed to have its own rules of the game.
This should also be linked to what Tillväxtverket highlighted in its report, namely that commercial service in rural areas is very important to create a robust society. Then we should not have a system that makes shops forced to close because the system creates such conditions that it is not possible to continue running the shop.
We know that some of these stores are located in areas with a very small population. One might be lucky to have ski tourists or others who come a few weeks a year and cause the turnover to increase, but otherwise, one is very dependent on receiving support, not least because of all the requirements that come as a result of having to replace machines for increased sustainability or for other environmental reasons. These are very important things, but not everyone has the opportunity to get as many customers as in a city.
How does the minister intend to work now that he has the opportunity to go down and exert influence in the EU?
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I agree with what Gunilla Svantorp said about the importance of commercial services in the countryside. It is extremely central that this functions. Shops are also important parts of the crisis preparedness. In the work that the government is doing regarding strengthening our resilience, the entire food chain is included, from the farmer to the food processing sector and the retail sector. We need to achieve a more robust system. Possibly we should have designated shops across the country that are to have higher operational reliability and be able to continue.
It is, as said, a rather strict set of rules that governs this. It concerns state aid and EU-wide rules. I do not want to give any hope whatsoever that we will be able to change such an order in a heartbeat. The discussion is relatively non-existent at the EU level. In order to achieve a change in the EU, it applies, as previously stated, that one must get enough people on one's side and get the Commission's ear in various matters.
Here Sweden is relatively unique in its construction. If I am to be honest, which one should be, I believe that this makes it relatively difficult to achieve a change in the near term.
We are still trying to do as well as we can, and Coop stores also receive support, as has been said. But due to how the state aid rules are designed, it is problematic. Sweden also cannot have separate legislation, because then we would risk being reprimanded and having to reclaim money, which would be very unfortunate.
In this context, I shall also mention the extra service grant of 25 million that the government decided on last year and which rural traders received because they, among other things, have been affected by very high electricity costs. No one has any interest in disadvantaging any rural trader. On the contrary, we want to continue to provide support, because we must be able to maintain service throughout the country.
Gunilla Svantorp (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister says that it is a non-existent discussion in the EU and that we are unique. That is exactly the point, and therefore the government needs to demonstrate what is unique about Sweden in order to try to win over more.
The UN has designated 2025 as the Year of Cooperation, which is very important and a call to all countries in the world to promote this globally successful business model. The last time we had the Year of Cooperation was 2012, and the Secretary-General of the UN presented a report in 2023 showing cooperation's contribution to social development. I recommend that it is well worth reading.
Now it is about the UN pointing out the need to review existing legislation and regulatory frameworks. This is the UN's call ahead of the cooperation in 2025, so I really hope that the government will do so - and one does not need to wait until 2025 but can take its own initiatives.
Both the Minister and I are from Värmland, and the shops that could be considered for a grant there are those in Högboda, Skillingsfors, Sysslebäck, Lysvik, Sunnemo and Stöllet. Everyone who lives in Värmland knows how long the distances are to these shops and where the next store is, and it is not next door.
It is important to try to establish a system that provides competition on equal terms, which we do not have today.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! The Government has a unified focus, and that is that the conditions for living, residing and working in the entire country need to be strengthened. Regardless of where in the country one lives, one should be able to create a good life, and the Government works to ensure that all of Sweden functions better.
Part of this is that we have initiated work on a review of the entire collective rural policy. It is about looking at the conditions for living and working, where commercial service is an important part, and for entrepreneurship, as well as how service and transport in the countryside can be improved. It is a comprehensive piece of work that spans significantly more areas of responsibility than those that are in my portfolio. Therefore, it will take some time. We will not rest on our laurels, but the bill is intended to be submitted to the Riksdag during the spring of 2026.
I understand the frustration when one has chosen to organize in a specific way and it is different how one can receive the support. But there can also be advantages to being organized in a certain way - in a corporate form with several different units but with the same organization number, in a cooperative, or as a sole trader for each individual store. It is difficult to have a regulatory framework that ensures it works for exactly all forms. It becomes extra difficult because we are relatively unique.
I am not saying, however, that one does not have a significant mission across our elongated country or that there is no opportunity for changes. I just want to be honest when I see major problems and not give false hopes.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.