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WHAT CHANGES IN SWEDEN

KEY POINTS: Everything that changes in Sweden in October 2022

A new government, new employment rules, new vaccine and a visit from the Dutch royals. Here's what's changing in Sweden in October.

KEY POINTS: Everything that changes in Sweden in October 2022
Dutch King William Alexander and Queen Maxima their glasses during a dinner with 150 Dutchmen of fifty-years-old who were invited on the occasion to mark the 50th birthday of the king on April 28, 2017 at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. (Photo by Remko de Waal / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT

Sweden gets a new government 

Judging by the optimistic statements made by Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson, it looks like an agreement could be reached over Sweden’s next government sooner rather than later, with Kristersson installed as Prime Minister well before Halloween at the end of this month. 

The Sweden Democrats are getting eight of the sixteen chairmanships and deputy chairmanships of parliamentary committees the right-bloc is entitled to, which suggests that far-right party will be a powerful support party rather than part of the ruling coalition. Whether the Liberal Party will be included in the government, with party leader Johan Pehrson as education minister, remains to be seen.

The new government will have to get straight to work on the budget for 2023. Outside of an election year, a Swedish government would submit its budget to the parliament by the end of September. It will also have to quickly get to work on convincing Turkey and its parliament to ratify Swedish Nato membership.  

In the election campaign, the Moderate Party also promised to have a system of “high-cost protection” for electricity consumers in place by November 1st. If it is to have a chance of meeting this pledge, it will have to move rapidly.

Swedish delegation goes to Turkey for Nato meeting 

On October 5th a delegation from Sweden’s Justice Department is travelling to Turkey for a meeting Turkey’s Anadolu news agency is calling a meeting on “the extradition of criminal terrorists”. 

Sweden’s outgoing foreign minister Ann Linde said on September 27th that the talks with Turkey were “moving along nicely”. 

“My judgement is that Turkey will say ‘yes’ to Swedish Nato membership, however I don’t know when that is going to be.”

Changes to Sweden’s first-in, last-out employment rules come into force

The reform to Sweden’s Employment Protection Law, lagen om anställningsskydd or LAS, comes into force on October 1st. The reform was one of the key policies the Centre Party drove through as part of the price for supporting the outgoing Social Democrat-led government. 

Under the reform, employers who need to slim down their workforce during a business downturn gain the right to lay off three employees outside of the old first-in, last-out employment rules. These require employers to lay off those employed more recently before those who have worked for the employer for a long time. 

In exchange for the looser rules, a new system will also come into force giving employees the right to education to improve their skills so they can find a new job, perhaps in a different industry. The new system is expected to cost the government between six and nine billion kronor a year. 

Employees will be able to apply for support for studies to learn new skills from October 1st for courses starting from January 2023. 

Sweden to start using the new BA.4 and BA.5 Comirnaty vaccine 

Sweden’s Public Health Agency expects to take delivery of the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine adapted to target the new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the Covid-19 virus. The vaccine will be distributed to Sweden’s regional health authorities to be given out as part of the höstdosen, or autumn dose, which is offered for all citizens over the age of 18 (but only actively recommended to those in a risk group or over the age of 65). 

State visit by Dutch King and Queen 

The Netherlands’ King William-Alexander and Queen Maxima are visiting Sweden on a state visit from October 11th to October 13th. The state visit is, according to a press release from Sweden’s Royal Court intended to “strengthen the long-running and excellent connections between Sweden and The Netherlands which go back to the 1600s”. 

Reforms to which agency is responsible for Sweden in a crisis

From October 1st, Sweden is reforming its crisis preparedness system, with 60 agencies now classified as “crisis preparedness agencies”.

All of these agencies are required to work together with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish Armed Forces to prepare for crisis situations or war, and to coordinate if a crisis or war actually happens. 

Sweden’s 21 regional governments will also be grouped into six new “civil areas” or civilområde, with the governments of Norrbotten, Örebro, Stockholm, Östergötland, Västra Götaland, and Skåne each taking charge of their surrounding area in the event of a war. 

Prisoners on early release can be returned to jail more rapidly if they do not behave

From October 1st, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service will gain greater powers to put prisoners on early release back behind bars without having to first have the decision approved by a judge at the supervisory board or Övervakningsnämnden. Currently, a decision by a judge is required before the service can dispatch police to apprehend a prisoner. 

The prison service has complained that the delay can cause problems when prisoners, for example, visit or stalk the victim of their crime, particularly in domestic violence cases. 

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WHAT CHANGES IN SWEDEN

What changes in Sweden in June 2024?

June is a jam-packed month this year, with a new interest rate announcement, a new work permit salary threshold and two public holidays on the cards. Here's what to expect.

What changes in Sweden in June 2024?

June 1st: New law on travel ban for vulnerable children comes into force

A new law comes into force on June 1st, which will issue children under 18 with a ban on leaving the country if it is suspected that the purpose of their trip is for them to undergo genital mutilation or forced marriage.

The law will also make it possible to issue a travel ban for children who are deemed to be at risk of damage to their health or development if they leave the country.

This could be so-called uppfostringsresor, where children are sent back to their homeland against their will in order to re-learn particular values or traditions by family members who believe they have become “too Swedish”, or as a response to children acting out in school.

It also includes parents taking their children out of Sweden to undergo conversion therapy, or children who want to leave Sweden of their own accord to join terror organisations.

June 4th: Healthcare strike

The Swedish Association of Health Professionals is threatening to scale up an overtime ban to an all-out strike at some of Sweden’s biggest hospitals from June 4th.

A blockade on overtime and new hires has been in place for 63,000 members of the union in all Swedish regions since April 25th, which was extended to 5,000 municipal employees in 29 municipalities from May 20th. Healthcare is run regionally in Sweden, but municipalities organise welfare services such as elderly care and school nurses.

The new walkout will cover some 2,000 nurses, midwives, biomedical analysts and radiology nurses in five regions: Stockholm, Västra Götaland, Skåne, Östergötland and Västerbotten.

On May 28th, the union threatened to double the strike, extending it to another 1,900 union members and two new regions, Västmanland and Värmland, from 11th June.

A possible agreement could be reached before June 4th, but if not, here’s how it could affect you.

June 6th: National Day

Another important date in the Swedish calendar this month is Sweden’s National Day on June 6th. It has been a public holiday since 2005, replacing Whit Monday, but was first celebrated in 1916 in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa on June 6th, 1523. 

Gustav Vasa’s election also marks the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so is arguably a marking of Swedish independence, although it occurred so long ago that few Swedes associate National Day with this aspect of Swedish history.

Many Swedes will have booked June 7th off in order to have a four-day weekend, so don’t be surprised if your workplace is emptier than usual the day after National Day.

You may also be able to buy a nationaldagsbakelse or National Day pastry in many bakeries on June 6th, a small almond cake topped with strawberries and a Swedish flag.

June 9th: European Parliament elections

This year’s elections for the European Parliament will be held on June 9th across Europe, but in Sweden advance voting actually opened on May 22nd, with 21 seats up for grabs. 

Sweden elects its MEPs through direct proportional representation, so that parties gain the number of MEPs equivalent to their share of the overall vote. But exactly who gets to be an MEP is decided in advance by the parties who publish their candidate lists in priority order.

Here’s our guide to the Swedish parties currently represented in the European Parliament and the individuals heading the lists for each party.

If you want to know how the election actually works and who’s eligible to vote, read this article.

June 14th and 27th: New inflation figures and interest rate announcement

Sweden’s Riksbank central bank will make a new announcement on Sweden’s key interest rate on June 27th. They’re expected to keep it constant at 3.75 percent, but there is a small chance that this could change if inflation figures for May (released June 14th) are much lower than expected.

Having said that, Riksbank governor Erik Thedéen has made it very clear that the bank is not planning on lowering interest rates, stating earlier in May that there would need to be “very large changes” to even begin to discuss lowering interest rates in June – and unexpectedly low inflation figures for May would not be enough on their own.

“Figures alone aren’t going to decide it, but rather the context surrounding them,” he told journalists after a speech held at the National Economic Association on May 20th.

“The question is not on the table. Our main expectation is two cuts in the latter half of the year,” he added, while saying that nothing is completely ruled out.

“But there’s a very high threshold for us to even consider it.” 

Mid-June: School holidays and graduation

Summer holidays start in most of Sweden’s schools around the middle of the month. You can also expect Sweden to be a bit louder in June, especially if you live in an urban area near a gymnasium school.

Students finishing upper high school (gymnasium) will springa ut starting in early June, a tradition where newly-graduated students run out of school after getting their final exam results to cheers from friends and family, after which they will drive around in a car or on the back of a van with friends and party for the rest of the evening.

June 18th: New median salary figures released

Statistics Sweden will release its salary figures for 2023 on June 18th. This may not sound like a big deal, but these are the figures which affect the salary threshold for work permit applicants in Sweden.

The most recent figures from June last year put the median salary at 34,200 kronor, meaning that work permit holders applying for a new permit or an extension need to earn 80 percent of this – 27,360 kronor – to qualify for a permit.

From June 18th, the median salary figure will (most likely) rise, meaning that the threshold for a new work permit will also rise. This will only apply to applications submitted from that date – the threshold is determined by the most recent salary figures at the time of application, not at the time a decision is made.

June 22nd: Midsummer’s Eve

Rounding off June, we have Midsummer’s Eve, which falls on June 22nd this year.

The majority of workers – at least those who work normal working hours throughout the week – will have the day off on Midsummer’s Eve, despite the fact that it is not officially a röd dag or public holiday.

The reason it’s celebrated on a Friday rather than on the actual summer solstice, which this year is on June 20st, is due to a 1953 reform to make it fit in better with the working week – and presumably to give workers the Saturday off to recover from the festivities.

It is, however, listed as a holiday day equivalent to a Sunday in Sweden’s Annual Leave Act, so if you don’t usually work on Sundays you should have the day off.

If you do have to work on Midsummer’s Eve, you may be offered OB-tillägg (pay for working inconvenient hours), overtime pay, or a day off in lieu at a later date.

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