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SWEDEN ELECTS

What’s next in Swedish politics: Key dates to keep an eye on in 2023

Everything from EU summits to budget bills – here are the key political dates to put in your diary in Sweden this year.

Published: 2 January 2023 07:53 CET
a man writing in a calendar
Make sure you don't miss these political events in Sweden. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT

January 1st: Sweden to assume the EU presidency, a task that rotates among the member states every six months. Here’s a list of the top priorities for the next six months with Sweden at the helm.

January 8th-10th: The annual Folk och Försvar (“Society and Defence”) conference to be held at the Sälen ski resort. Expected to attend are as usual some of the top names in the world of security and defence, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

January 12th-13th: The EU Commission to visit Sweden.

January 17th: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to present Sweden’s presidency at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. On the same day, Sweden will chair a meeting of the EU’s finance ministers in Brussels.

January 18th: Party leader debate in the Swedish parliament, the first one of 2023.

January 25th-27th: Informal meeting of the EU’s justice, home affairs and migration ministers in Stockholm.

February 2nd-4th: The Centre Party to hold an extraordinary conference in Helsingborg to elect a new party leader, who will succeed Annie Lööf.

February 9th: The Swedish Central Bank to announce its latest decision on the interest rate, whether to leave it unchanged, raise it or lower it.

February 9th-10th: Summit of the EU’s heads of state and government in Brussels. On the same dates, the EU’s foreign aid ministers will have an informal meeting in Stockholm.

February 15th: The Swedish parliament to debate foreign policy.

February 21st-22nd: Informal meeting of the EU’s energy and transport ministers in Stockholm.

March 1st-2nd: Informal meeting of the EU’s defence ministers in Stockholm.

March 2nd-3rd: Informal meeting of the EU’s foreign affairs ministers in Stockholm.

March 9th-10th: Informal meeting of the EU’s trade ministers in Stockholm.

March 17th-19th: The Liberals’ party conference in Linköping.

March 21st: The deadline for submitting spring bills to parliament before the summer.

March 23rd-24th: Summit of the EU’s heads of state and government in Brussels.

March 24th-25th: The Moderates’ party conference in Karlstad.

April 14th-15th: The Christian Democrats’ party conference in Örebro.

April 17th: The government to present its spring budget bill.

April 18th-19th: Informal meeting of the EU’s climate ministers in Stockholm.

April 26th: The Central Bank to announce its latest decision on the interest rate.

April 28th-29th: Informal meeting of the EU’s finance ministers and central bank bosses in Stockholm.

May 4th-5th: Informal meeting of the EU’s ministers of employment and health in Stockholm.

May 31st-June 3rd: Järva Week, the annual political festival in Stockholm’s northern suburbs.

June 6th: The national day of Sweden and 500 years since Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden.

June 11th-13th: Informal meeting of the EU’s agriculture and fishery ministers in Stockholm.

June 14th: Party leader debate in parliament.

June 21st: The last day of parliament before the summer recess.

June 22nd: Informal meeting of EU ministers in Stockholm.

June 27th-July 1st: Sweden’s annual political festival Almedalen Week in Visby.

June 29th-30th: Summit of the EU’s heads of state and government in Brussels.

June 29th: The Central Bank to announce its latest decision on the interest rate.

July 1st: Spain takes over the EU presidency from Sweden.

July 11th-12th: Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

July 31st: The deadline for an ongoing inquiry into potentially introducing labour market testing for work permits.

September 1st: A reform of Sweden’s system of coordination numbers to come into force. Click here to read more about it in The Local’s article.

September 12th: Parliament reopens after the summer recess.

September 15th: 50 years since Carl XVI Gustaf became King of Sweden.

September 20th: The government to present its budget bill.

September 23rd: The Central Bank to announce its latest decision on the interest rate.

September 28th-October 1st: The Centre Party’s conference in Örebro.

October 18th: Party leader debate in parliament.

October 19th-22nd: The Moderates’ party conference in Umeå

October 26th-27th: Summit of the EU’s heads of state and government in Brussels.

November 10th-12nd: The Christian Democrats’ party conference in Helsingborg.

November 15th: The Swedish parliament to debate EU politics.

November 17th-19th: The Green Party’s conference in Örebro. The Liberals will hold their party conference in Linköping on the same dates.

November 23rd: The Central Bank to announce its latest decision on the interest rate.

November 23rd-26th: The Sweden Democrats’ party conference. Location to be announced.

December 14th-15th: Summit of the EU’s heads of state and government in Brussels.

The dates above are based on information provided by Swedish news agency TT, with a couple of extra dates that readers of The Local may be particularly interested in.

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For members

POLITICS

‘Very little debate’ on consequences of Sweden’s crime and migration clampdown

Sweden’s political leaders are putting the population’s well-being at risk by moving the country in a more authoritarian direction, according to a recent report.

Published: 29 April 2024 08:56 CEST
'Very little debate' on consequences of Sweden's crime and migration clampdown

The Liberties Rule of Law report shows Sweden backsliding across more areas than any other of the 19 European Union member states monitored, fuelling concerns that the country risks breaching its international human rights obligations, the report says.

“We’ve seen this regression in other countries for a number of years, such as Poland and Hungary, but now we see it also in countries like Sweden,” says John Stauffer, legal director of the human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders, which co-authored the Swedish section of the report.

The report, compiled by independent civil liberties groups, examines six common challenges facing European Union member states.

Sweden is shown to be regressing in five of these areas: the justice system, media environment, checks and balances, enabling framework for civil society and systemic human rights issues.

The only area where Sweden has not regressed since 2022 is in its anti-corruption framework, where there has been no movement in either a positive or negative direction.

Source: Liberties Rule of Law report

As politicians scramble to combat an escalation in gang crime, laws are being rushed through with too little consideration for basic rights, according to Civil Rights Defenders.

Stauffer cites Sweden’s new stop-and-search zones as a case in point. From April 25th, police in Sweden can temporarily declare any area a “security zone” if there is deemed to be a risk of shootings or explosive attacks stemming from gang conflicts.

Once an area has received this designation, police will be able to search people and cars in the area without any concrete suspicion.

“This is definitely a piece of legislation where we see that it’s problematic from a human rights perspective,” says Stauffer, adding that it “will result in ethnic profiling and discrimination”.

Civil Rights Defenders sought to prevent the new law and will try to challenge it in the courts once it comes into force, Stauffer tells The Local in an interview for the Sweden in Focus Extra podcast. 

He also notes that victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the Swedish authorities had very little chance of getting a fair hearing as actions by the police or judiciary are “not even covered by the Discrimination Act”.

READ ALSO: ‘Civil rights groups in Sweden can fight this government’s repressive proposals’

Stauffer also expresses concerns that an ongoing migration clampdown risks splitting Sweden into a sort of A and B team, where “the government limits access to rights based on your legal basis for being in the country”.

The report says the government’s migration policies take a “divisive ‘us vs them’ approach, which threatens to increase rather than reduce existing social inequalities and exclude certain groups from becoming part of society”.

Proposals such as the introduction of a requirement for civil servants to report undocumented migrants to the authorities would increase societal mistrust and ultimately weaken the rule of law in Sweden, the report says.

The lack of opposition to the kind of surveillance measures that might previously have sparked an outcry is a major concern, says Stauffer.

Politicians’ consistent depiction of Sweden as a country in crisis “affects the public and creates support for these harsh measures”, says Stauffer. “And there is very little talk and debate about the negative consequences.”

Hear John Stauffer from Civil Rights Defender discuss the Liberties Rule of Law report in the The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

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