Response to interpellation 2024/25:523 on the industrial development in Ludvika and Smedjebacken
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that Sweden attracts strategic investments and that the government is implementing measures to strengthen the energy supply and simplify permit processes 1. KD has established a green acceleration office to facilitate for companies and municipalities 1. KD emphasizes that the current infrastructure bill is the largest ever and that the state takes responsibility for infrastructure and housing 2 3. KD believes that the state must take a broader responsibility for heavy establishments 4 and that the state should be responsible for the entirety of the infrastructure corridor 3. KD argues that the government is investing in a STEM strategy and offers tax breaks for foreign experts 3. S argues that the state is withdrawing by phasing out service offices in growing industrial regions 5 6. S emphasizes that the state must act so that infrastructure meets the industry's needs 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.
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! Lars Isacsson has asked me what concrete measures the government and I intend to take to meet the strong industrial development in Ludvika and Smedjebacken and whether the government and I are prepared to appoint a national coordinator to ensure that the needs of the business community and society in Ludvika and Smedjebacken are coordinated in an effective manner.
Swedish business shall be given the conditions to be leading in the new industrial transition. The task of politics is to contribute with frameworks, conditions and incentives for this transition.
What is happening in Ludvika and Smedjebacken is very positive and shows that Sweden is a country that attracts strategic investments within several different business sectors and industries. Investments in clean industry are central to the country's long-term competitiveness.
The government is implementing many different initiatives and measures that have great significance for the industry's transition in both the short and long term. We are implementing a long series of measures to strengthen Sweden's energy supply in the short, medium, and longer term. In total, it concerns nearly 70 decisions and measures.
We are working to make permit processes simpler, more predictable and more efficient. The Environmental Permit Inquiry submitted its report in January, which proposes, among other things, a major reform of the environmental review. The proposals are out for consultation until 15 June 2025.
We have also established a green acceleration office with two industry coordinators who have the tasks that Lars Isacsson requests, to ensure that the needs of the business sector and society are coordinated in an effective way in locations where industry is expanding.
The green industrial projects are in different phases, with different risks and potential bottlenecks. The Acceleration Office provides the government with a continuously updated picture of the situation. The industrial coordinators' task is also to identify and address investment and establishment barriers.
Parallel to the industrial coordinators' assignment, Tillväxtverket was tasked in September 2024 to carry out measures for the industry's competitiveness and green transition. Since 2023, Tillväxtverket has had a similar assignment with a special focus on Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties. Experiences from the coordinating assignment in Norrbotten and Västerbotten are relevant for the whole country and will be utilized in this assignment.
In the government's Strategy for the new industrialization and social transformation in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, there is an initiative concerning facilitating growth for municipalities and contributing to regional development. This can, for example, involve how the credit guarantee model can be used to support community-developing initiatives for municipalities that have large company establishments or company expansions.
Thus, Tillväxtverket has since 2022 been tasked with assisting regions and municipalities with warnings and transitions in the business sector, but also assisting with larger business establishments and business expansions. This mandate has been extended to 2027 and builds up a collective competence that will be of long-term benefit within industrial policy.
Overall, there are good conditions for both Ludvika, Smedjebacken and other municipalities to take part in both national and regional initiatives that are ongoing to both meet the industry's needs and at the same time strengthen the localities where the establishments take place.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thanks to the Minister for Industry for the answer!
In Ludvika and Smedjebacken, Hitachi now has an order backlog of 400 billion kronor – one-third of the state budget. Hitachi is also world-leading in power transmission, which perhaps could be an important part of the solution in the previous interpellation debate. Hitachi has hired three people a day for the third year in a row. In 2024, Hitachi employed 1,576 people in Ludvika-Smedjebacken. Nordic Iron Ore will open mining in Ludvika municipality. Spendrups in Grängesberg is investing and expanding. Ovako in Smedjebacken has a fossil-free steel production that is world-leading.
There are many cabinet ministers who want to come to Ludvika and cut ribbons at inaugurations. It is very good and appreciated. But what does the government and SD do when the business sector invests and the municipality grows? Well, they leave. That is what the chairman of the municipal executive board in Ludvika, Leif Pettersson, tells Nya Ludvika Tidning: The state cannot just leave from here.
The Minister for Enterprise refers in his answer to the newly established acceleration office. I myself have very good experiences of working with the industry coordinators in the acceleration office. This morning, the acceleration office confirmed to Avesta Tidning that there is an agreement on electricity supply between Google and Vattenfall Eldistribution.
As a result of this, Google has submitted an application for a land permit in Horndal in Avesta. I think that is very positive. It is good that the acceleration office is getting involved in this, because it cannot be the individual municipality's task to coordinate the state and its agencies and companies. It cannot be an individual municipal councilor or a member of parliament from the region who should chase ministers and state secretaries to arrange a meeting with one of the world's largest companies, which wants to make a multi-billion investment, and one of the state's companies.
But in Ludvika-Smedjebacken, it is not about new establishments. Here, it is companies that have existed for over 100 years, with different names. Here there are factories. Here there is detailed-planned land from the municipalities. When the companies need to build, building permit applications are processed quickly and reliably by the municipalities.
In Ludvika-Smedjebacken, the need for acceleration offices and state coordination is therefore not as great. Here, the state needs to act so that what is produced and needed on a world market can leave southern Dalarna and leave Sweden. Housing also needs to be built for thousands of new employees who get jobs.
We have here one of the country's absolutely strongest industrial regions. The companies are investing billions and creating the climate-smart jobs of the future. Then one cannot simultaneously let the state withdraw and close the service office in Ludvika. It simply doesn't add up. It is like first applauding the industry's development and then pulling the rug out from under the people who are to live and work at the site.
The Minister for Civil Affairs has said in a debate here that the State Service Center has a mandate to ensure that there is a service office in every functional labor market region. Ludvika and Smedjebacken are a separate labor market region. Hitachi has employees from 60 different nations and a continued large influx of labor migration. It is not reasonable for the residents to be referred to an office in Borlänge four miles away. It is also not reasonable for the state to close offices precisely where the business sector is performing strongest.
Madam Speaker! I want to ask the Minister for Enterprise: How can the government speak of the whole of Sweden living while simultaneously phasing out basic state services in growing industrial regions?
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! First and foremost, I would like to say that Ludvika and Smedjebacken, for slightly different reasons, hold a special place in my heart. I shared some of that information the last time I was on-site in Smedjebacken and Ludvika.
It depends, in no small part, on the fact that people are so solution-oriented and forward-driven in these places. Once again, it is shown that it is the companies in Sweden that are this country's job creators. I think I have answered quite well the question posed by Lars Isaksson in the interpellation. Now a new question is posed, regarding the service centers.
Madam Speaker! The service offices are not my area of responsibility as a Minister, and it would be unfortunate if I were to go into detail on this. That being said, I nevertheless want to provide the information that if I had been allowed to decide myself, there would have been very many more service offices in this country, rather than fewer. But in a budget, one needs to give and take and make the whole fit together. I stand behind the whole that the budget has now become, even if I do not think there is reason to paint a picture that it is good that service offices are disappearing.
Some of the trade-offs in such a negotiation, Madam Speaker, concern other areas of the whole budget. This includes, among other things, the possibility of a green acceleration office, which is now resolving many of the knots that other measures have not been able to solve previously. Perhaps it is possible to find more creative solutions to compensate for part of a lost service office here as well, together with the industrial coordinators.
If you zoom out a little bit, you can see that it is quite important for a company like Hitachi, for example, and other large investments and initiatives, that there is infrastructure that one can rely on, both road and railway. Therefore, I as Minister for Enterprise are very proud that in the budget that now applies in Sweden as a whole, we are making the largest investment ever on infrastructure. We know that it has a direct bearing on the possibility for companies to invest forward.
If more railway departures are to be possible, for example, with what Hitachi sells and is to ship out of Sweden from the ports, we need a strong prioritization of the railway. A significant increase of the frame is occurring in the next national plan. It goes up by 27 percent. We are making a prioritization of a more robust railway and fewer disruptions. This has never happened before in Sweden. There are now conditions to zero out the road maintenance debt, and that is handled with an additional 200 billion in the infrastructure bill.
This occurs in addition to what is being done in the energy sector and with regulatory simplifications. We are paving the way for more companies to be able to grow, and we are easing the regulatory burden in a very tough global competition.
I therefore do not share the image of the state withdrawing. Rather, the state is now taking full responsibility for things that only the state can take responsibility for and which it is not reasonable for the municipality to do. Furthermore, the state is now making additional efforts to support growth centers regarding housing.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for Industry for the answer!
I do not agree, perhaps hardly surprisingly, with the Minister for Enterprise when she says that the state has not withdrawn. I will return to this.
The Minister for Enterprise pointed out that she cannot decide alone and that a budget involves give and take. I truly understand that. But I think it is a problem that ministers do not decide more in Sweden. The Minister for Civil Affairs, for example, says that it is a mandate for Statens servicecenter that there should be service offices in every functional labor market region. Two weeks later, the service centers in Ludvika and Smedjebacken are closed, which is one of the most expansive regions we have. I think it is a problem. Then it is difficult to tell the municipal council that the signal is not that the state is withdrawing.
The Minister for Enterprise also pointed out that it is about a whole and that I brought up matters that do not concern her area of responsibility. But then she brought up infrastructure. I also intended to talk more about that, because it is difficult to talk about industry without talking about infrastructure.
The Minister speaks of the largest investment ever in the infrastructure budget. However, it is in the nature of the matter that every infrastructure budget is larger than the previous one. During my twelve years as a municipal councilor, the budget was the largest ever every mandate period. This did not, however, mean that the school received more in real funds than they had last time.
In Smedjebacken and Ludvika, we are facing an industrial breakthrough. The green transition is no longer only happening in Norrbotten and Västerbotten, but it is the same thing in Bergslagen, and then the state must keep up. It is not just about electricity for the factory, but it is about roads, railways, and public transport that work. It is about how people are to get to work. It is about train lines for commuting, freight transport, a road out to the harbor, and accessible roads. Otherwise, the growth will only be a vision on paper.
The government, where the Minister for Enterprise has an important role, has recently tasked Trafikverket with developing proposals for a new national plan. The assignment includes considering the need for a robust transport system that can meet challenges in rapidly growing industrial regions. Here, Ludvika and Smedjebacken must step in. The need is acute.
Against that background, I would like to ask the Minister for Enterprise, who has the collective responsibility to support and facilitate for the industry: When will the government's mandate to Trafikverket be concretely noticed in the form of infrastructure investments in Ludvika and Smedjebacken? Why is there not more coordinated action when it is clear that the industry is moving forward and the state is lagging behind?
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! I do sometimes think it is unfortunate that the ministers do not decide more when clear directions are set. Do not misunderstand me: I take responsibility for the whole, but I do not intend to try to put lipstick on a pig. It is heavy when service offices are closed down. I hope that the development generally can look different, and I think that a lot is happening in many other areas that are worth highlighting.
There have been many politicians throughout the ages who have been able to say that this initiative is the largest ever. But what effect does that have? I appreciate Lars Isacsson's understanding and humility regarding this. I myself am aware that much of what we have done in recent years needs to be evaluated, not just in terms of tempo and how much we have done. The question must also be whether we have succeeded in reaching all the way to the goal. If one hasn't, perhaps one can conclude that it was the right step along the way but that one did not reach all the way.
When it comes to the infrastructure issues, it is clear that when one goes from around 1,000 billion to 1,200 billion in infrastructure funds, it is, in percentage terms, an increase far beyond just adding a little compared to the previous year. Therefore, I think it is relevant to really emphasize that it is a historically large infrastructure bill.
I will not be able to give exact answers, whether it concerns the exact day or month. Andreas Carlson must answer for that. I appreciate the understanding that I can answer generally and stand for the whole but not for the details. Therefore, I believe I have answered the most relevant regarding the infrastructure and the great value of us not overturning a national matter on a single municipality. Is it a national matter that the entire infrastructure stretch from one of Dalarna's vital organs out to other parts of Sweden? We have also had a discussion about a single municipality's crane in a municipally owned harbor. Should that pulse artery suddenly be choked off because one does not resolve it? It is not reasonable, and it is also a reason why the green acceleration office has come into being.
Another area that is completely crucial for this is competence, and the municipality locally does a great deal to secure the competence. Individual companies also do a lot together with the municipality to ensure that young people are educated in things that are relevant on the labor market.
From the government's side, we are significantly expanding the civil engineering programs as well as the resources for study places within the universities of applied sciences and the vocational education within komvux. These are some examples of what we have prioritized. We have also presented a STEM strategy for increased knowledge specifically within natural sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
There are also several other measures that an individual municipality cannot implement but that the state can. These concern tax reliefs for foreign experts and researchers, for example the expert tax which we have extended from five to seven years. The Migration Agency shall promote high-skilled labor immigration, and there we have significantly reduced the response time. The goal is that everyone should receive a response within 30 days. We are also making a special investment within the framework of Business Sweden and the Swedish Institute to attract foreign talents.
All of this has escalated. Here, the state steps forward to provide support together with the municipal, and that is what we shall continue to do.
Lars Isacsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Enterprise, for the answer!
I also think that the state should step in and do this together with the municipalities, but I also think that there is a lot more to be done. The infrastructure investments must be noticeable. Hitachi can deliver 52 of the absolutely largest transformers per year. That is because they have been given one train slot per week, on the night between Saturday and Sunday. They wanted two train slots in a row so that they can export 104 transformers. But they did not get that. There is, therefore, a lot to build on.
This is one of Sweden's most expansive labor market regions, and there could be no more enjoyable assignment than being a municipal councilor in Ludvika or Smedjebacken. The cabinet ministers should stand in line to go there and tell which investments their respective departments will make to meet the business community.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time I stand at this rostrum and speak about Ludvika and Smedjebacken. I have spoken about dust emissions, for example in Fredriksberg, which threaten to turn large parts of the municipality into marshland. I have protested against cuts in public transport, and I have warned about what it means to close service offices. This, of course, I will continue to do.
When the business sector invests in the billions in a region, the state must not shrink back. There must be infrastructure, education, housing and community services – things that make the transition possible. I do not think it is sufficient for every minister to point in a different direction.
The Minister for Enterprise and Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch also faces the fact that the ministers who hold the interesting portfolios that the business community and the municipalities demand are her party comrades. Acceleration is needed here, perhaps not in the form of an acceleration office in Ludvika and Smedjebacken, but more concrete decisions from the government and responsible Kristdemokrater ministers.
Madam Speaker! The government needs to step forward and show the same decisiveness as the companies and the municipalities in Ludvika and Smedjebacken. Thanks to the Minister for the debate!
Energi- och näringsministern Ebba Busch (KD)
Madam Speaker! Many thanks to Lars Isacsson, who has just raised these questions!
It is not so often that I can say this in the chamber, but I would like to say that we are very close to each other in our view on the enormous potential that exists with the good work that is already taking place, where local businesses and the state go hand in hand. The entrepreneurial spirit and the investment power provide faith and hope for the future, but it needs to hang together.
For me, it has been so clear every time I have been on-site in Ludvika and Smedjebacken that here we have the strength in Sweden. It is about the combination of hard work and curiosity and overcoming difficult problems and providing both economic growth and conditions for a better welfare. It is my very firm opinion that when heavy establishments occur, regardless of whether they have existed there for a long time and are now changing direction, whether they increase or whether it is about completely new establishments, one cannot say that this is solely up to the individual municipality.
That is why I mean that the government is taking a broader responsibility, which I am proud of. We are presenting the largest research and innovation bill ever to pave the way for more innovative power. I have pushed for the largest infrastructure bill ever for both road and railway. I know that the Minister for Infrastructure is well aware of Hitachi's wishes going forward regarding specifically the railway.
I have emphasized everything the government is doing in the area of skills supply. It is about both bringing in foreign expertise and paving the way for the right skills within the country – regardless of whether it concerns transition or our young people who will graduate in a few years. I have pressed on what we are doing for energy in the form of robust electricity security, a robust energy system, more guaranteed electricity everywhere in the country and regulatory simplifications. I look forward to continuing to cooperate on this.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.