POLITICS WEEKLY NO. 84 WEEK OF 14 SEPTEMBER 2015 Politics Weekly by Mundus International The week ahead

✦Today, the Speaker, , receives the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, at the . Mr Schultz will also have meetings with the Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven CALENDAR (S), and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström (S). A press conference will be held at NATIONAL 1 p.m. • 14th: Audience for the President of the European ✦The Minister for Defence, (S), is in Warsaw today for a bilateral meeting Parliament, Martin Schultz, the Royal Palace with his Polish counterpart. ✦ • 14th: Business Forum: French Tech and French On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Swedish Start-up Opportunities, France, the French-Swedish Business Forum will be held in Stockholm today. Veronika Wand- Danielsson, Ambassador of to France, and Jacques Lapouge, Ambassador of France to • 15th: Opening of the Riksdag, Stockholm Sweden, will attend. The program can be viewed here. ✦The Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality, Åsa Regnér (S), is in Brussels • 15th: International Day of Democracy, Stockholm today. She will meet the European Commissioner, Marianne Thyssen, for talks on exposed EU migrants, deliver a speech in the Committee for Gender Equality and meet Swedish MEPs. • 16th: Statistics Sweden (SCB) publish register data for Integration 2014 ✦Today, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union convenes an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels on migration flows. Click here for • 16th-17th: Business Arena, Stockholm further information. The Minister for Justice and Migration, (S), will attend. ✦Tuesday marks the start of the new working year in the Riksdag. At the request of the 17th: EU Commissioner Vĕra Jourová visits • Speaker, the King Karl Gustaf XV1 will declare the 2015/16 Riksdag session open. At 2.20 p.m. Stockholm the Prime Minister will read the Statement of Government Policy. The ceremony will be interpreted into English and can be followed here. Click here to download the programme. • 17th: Q&A session, the Riksdag ✦On Tuesday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström, receives the Swiss and the INTERNATIONAL Mongolian Foreign Ministers, Didier Burkhalter and Lundeg Purevsuren, in Stockholm. • 14th: General Affairs Council, Brussels ✦On Wednesday and Thursday, the Speaker, Urban Ahlin (S), heads a Riksdag delegation visiting Poland at the invitation of his Polish counterpart Malgorzata Kidawa Blonska. • 14th: Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council ✦On September 16, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) arranges seminars in the Riksdag on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of IDEA. The • 14-15th: Information day on the Horizon 2020 work will deliver the opening speech and among the guests are the Minister for program 2016-2017 ‘Secure, Clean and Efficient Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström and Crown Princess Victoria. Energy’, Brussels ✦On Wednesday and Thursday, Stockholm Business Arena will be held in Stockholm bringing together investors, real estate professionals and local authorities. The Minister for Infrastructure • 14-15th: Conference - EU Citizenship and Justice, Anna Johansson (S), Helene Hellmark Knutsson (S) the Minister for Higher Education and Luxembourg Research, and the former Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt (M), will be among the speakers. ✦From September16-18, the Riksdag delegation attends to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly • 15th: EU-Republic of Korea Summit, Seoul meeting in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia. ✦On Thursday, a Question Session will be held in the Riksdag. At the Q&A session, cabinet • 16-17th: Federal Reserve Bank Monetary policy ministers answers questions from MPs. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström (S) and meeting (S), the Minister for Public Administration, are two out of five ministers who will answer questions. The session can be viewed here. • 16th-18th: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting, ✦ Ulaanbataar On Thursday and Friday, interpellation debates will be held in the Riksdag. The Minister for Home Affairs, (S), will answer an interpellation about the acts of violence in Malmö. The Minister for Justice and Migration, Morgan Johansson (S) will respond to an 17th: ”External Dimension of the Common Fisheries • interpellation about a legally secure asylum system and (MP), the Minister for Policy – Enhancing collaboration between EU and Financial Markets and Consumer Affairs, will answer an interpellation about the economy of the Africa”, Las Palmas Swedish household. ✦On September 17-18, the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender • 17-18th: European Tourism Forum 2015, Luxembourg Equality, Vĕra Jourová, visits Sweden. Ms Jourová will meet the Minister for Justice and Migration, Morgan Johansson (S), the Minister for Home Affairs, Anders Ygeman (S) and Åsa Regnér (S), the 18th: Environment Council, Brussels • Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality, and speak in the Riksdag. • 18-19th: EU-Sub Saharan Africa event, Milan ✦On Friday, the Minister for Infrastructure, Anna Johansson (S), will meet the Ukrainian Minister for Transport in Stockholm. ✦On Friday, the Minister for Minister for International Development Cooperation, Isabella Lövin, (MP) receives the Iraqi Soeaker of the Parliament, Dr. Saleem Al-Jbori in Stockholm. ✦On Friday, the Minister for Climate and the Environment, Åsa Romson (MP), will attend the Environment Council in Brussels. The ministers will prepare the EU position for the UN Climate Change Conference, which takes place in Paris in December.

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from the Riksdag, the political parties, and the News Government and its agencies

Russia dominates Nordic On 7 September, the Nordic Council hosted a roundtable discussion on defence roundtable discussions issues in Stockholm. In addition to politicians from the Nordic Council, the roundtable was attended by Sweden’s Supreme Commander, Sverker Göranson, and the presidiums of the national parliaments’ defence and foreign affairs committees. Discussions were dominated by the situation in and relations between Russia and the West. During the meeting, the Swedish Minister of Defence, Peter Hultqvist (S), said he did not believe in a rapid solution to the tense situation. He further stressed the importance of deepened co-operation within the framework of NORDEFCO, and bilateral co-operation, such as that which exists between Sweden and : “In our view, the military capability of Sweden, Europe, and the Nordic countries plays a role. We have to demonstrate a united front towards Russia. We also have to work together with the United States as this is the only way to balance the situation with Russia.” The Nordic Defence Ministers kept the door open to dialogue with Russia but stated that ”Russia’s actions have shaken the order of European security.” The Chairman of the Nordic Council’s Swedish Delegation, Hans Wallmark, stressed that the policy of sanctions against Russia has been successful, although it has consequences for some countries in the West. This was the 3rd time the Nordic Council had organised a roundtable discussion on defence issues.

The government: 10 standpoints On 7 September, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven presented the government’s to reform EU’s refugee policy policy for reforming the EU’s refugee system. The PM stressed that all countries must take responsibility for the refugee crisis and create an orderly reception system to tackle the causes of the international refugee crisis. Sweden will pursue the following ten standpoints to reform the EU’s refugee policy: • The EU must establish a permanent and obligatory redistribution mechanism in the event of disasters • The EU must continue to prioritise the saving of lives • All EU Member States must take their responsibility to maintain the EU’s external border and live up to the asylum rules • The EU’s asylum and border agencies must be strengthened • The EU must continue to combat people smugglers • The EU must ensure the efficient and humane return of refugees and agree on a returnee programme • The EU must quickly agree on a system of safe countries of origin • The EU must drastically increase the number of quota refugees to approx. 100,000 • The European Commission must propose more legal routes into the EU • The EU needs a more active foreign and aid policy to help people on the ground The government also announced that all of Sweden’s municipalities must receive refugees. The government is therefore preparing a legislative proposal on the elimination of the municipal veto in refugee policy and is looking to increase support to municipalities receiving refugees. The government will present more measures to improve the establishment of refugees coming to Sweden in the 2016 Budget Bill.

SD party board cut ties with The Sweden Democrat's party board has decided to cut its ties with the party's party's youth league, SDU youth league, SDU. It is the first time since 1934 that a Riksdag party cut ties with its own youth league. The decision was announced in a press release shortly after the SDU elected Jessica Ohlson as its new leader. She represents a group that wants to take the party in a more nationalistic direction, which the SD party board is opposed to. Now the board wants to form a new youth league but, according to the party's by-laws, the might not be able to do so without letting other party members vote on the matter at a party congress.

Armed Forces to hand out In 2010, the Armed Forces abolished and replaced it with a bonuses voluntary 3-month training program, the GMU. The program will be extended to between 9 and 12 months in 2016. But the Armed Forces have had trouble with recruits dropping out of the basic military training program. Last year, 20 per cent did not complete their basic training. The Armed Forces will now start handing out a bonus of between SEK 40,000 and SEK 50,000 to all recruits who complete their basic military training. The aim is that the bonus will serve as an incentive to complete the training.

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PEOPLE WATCH

Micael Bydén has been appointed Supreme Commander of Sweden’s Armed Forces. Major-General Micael Bydén is 51 years old and has been head of the Swedish Air Force since 2012. Mr Bydén started his military career as a Gripen pilot, but has also served as a helicopter flotilla chief and as Air Attaché in Washington DC. Mr Rydén takes up his appointment on 1 October when he succeeds Sverker Göransson. Click here to access his CV.

Henrik Cederin The government has appointed Henrik Cederin Ambassador to Lusaka. He has previously served as Deputy Head of the Asia Unit at the MFA and at the Swedish embassies in Seoul, Tel Aviv and Tokyo, as well as Sweden’s Permanent Representation in Brussels. Hendrik Cederin assumes his new position in the autumn.

Ingrid Tersman has been appointed Ambassador to Dusjanbe. The position is stationed in Stockholm. She is also the Stockholm-based Ambassador to Turkmenistan and has previously served as Ambassador to Chisinau, as Counsellor at the Embassy in Afghanistan. Ms Tersman has served as group coordinator for the Nordic-Baltic group at the Ministry of Defence.

Jessica Ohlson has been elected leader of the Sweden Democrat’s youth league, SDU.

Stefan Lundgren The government has decided to extend the mandate for the Director General of Statistics Sweden (SCB), Stefan Lundgren, until December 2018. Mr Lundgren has served as Director General of Statistics Sweden since 2009.

Klas Molin has been appointed Chief of Protocol at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Most recently, Mr Molin served as Ambassador to Bangkok. His most recent post in Stockholm was Regional Director and Head of the Department for Asia and the Pacific.

New Directors at the MFA Jon Åström Gröndahl, Jörgen Lindström and Ann Dismorr have been appointed Directors (Departementsråd) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Per Örnéus The Government has appointed Per Örnéus Ambassador at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with special assignments regarding humanitarian issues.

Veronica Palm will step down as a member of the Riksdag for the Social Democratic Party in October. She has been a MP for 13 years and currently serves as Deputy Chairman of the Riksdag Committee on Social Affairs.

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