Some 100 members of the Riksdag are included in the Riksdag's delegations to nine parliamentary assemblies. The purpose of the assemblies includes building networks between parliamentarians, creating exchange of experience and working for improvements within selected areas.
At the beginning of each electoral period, the Riksdag elects the members who are to make up the various delegations. Members are elected to such delegations as the OSCE delegation and the IPU delegation. The delegation to the Nordic Council is elected at the beginning of every Riksdag session.
The members of the Riksdag who have been appointed participate in regular meetings, called sessions, and discuss current issues. At the sessions, the participants of the meetings finally adopt resolutions. Resolutions are publicly declared political decisions and recommendations directed towards the governments or parliaments of the member states. As a rule, they are non-binding for national governments and parliaments.
The number of member states in the assemblies varies, which means that the sessions are excellent arenas in which members of the Riksdag can meet colleagues from other parts of the world.
Swedish delegation to the Nordic Council
The parliaments and governments of the Nordic countries cooperate in the Nordic Council. The Council works in the same way as a national parliament – but at the Nordic level.
The Nordic Council was founded in 1952. It consists of 87 elected members from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland and the autonomous regions of the Faroe Islands, Åland and Greenland, as well as members from the governments of these countries and regions. As far as the Government is concerned, the official body for cooperation is the Nordic Council. It was formed in 1971.
The concept “Nordic value” is fundamental and means that the Nordic countries cooperate in matters where cooperation between the countries adds greater value than if they were to act individually. It is about improving citizens’ everyday lives, exchanging experience ahead of reforms in various areas of society, and gaining support for shared Nordic values in international contexts. Many issues are about border constraints, for example regulations that make it difficult for those who live in one Nordic country and work in another.
The Nordic Council also works with issues relating to foreign and security policies, primarily in the Baltic Sea region, the Arctic and the EU.
Nordic Council website
Takes initiatives and gives recommendations
The Nordic Council takes initiatives and gives recommendations on various issues to the governments in the Nordic countries. Many recommendations lead to concrete measures such as legislative amendments or new laws in the member states. The Council also monitors that the recommendations are implemented in accordance with their intentions.
The Presidium of the Nordic Council leads and coordinates activities. The Presidium and the committees prepare the items of business that members are to take a position on at the sessions of the Council. There are five committees in the Council:
- Committee for a Sustainable Nordic Region
- Committee for Knowledge and Culture in the Nordic Region
- Committee for Growth and Development in the Nordic Region
- Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region
- Control Committee
- Election Committee
As a rule, two major meetings, sessions, are held per year. The Council can also, if necessary, decide to hold extraordinary sessions or theme conferences on topical themes for Nordic cooperation. Between the sessions, the Presidium of the Nordic Council is the highest decision-making body. There are five party groups in the Nordic Council:
- Social Democratic Group
- Centre Group
- Conservative Group
- Nordic Green Left
- Nordic Freedom
The party-political distribution in the national parliaments is reflected in the composition of the Nordic Council.
The Swedish delegation
For each Riksdag session, the Riksdag elects 20 regular members and 20 deputy members to the Swedish delegation of the Nordic Council. The delegation elects a chair, a deputy chair and a working committee. Prior to the sessions, the Government appoints the ministers who are to participate. They are also part of the delegation, but lack voting rights. Every year, the delegation submits a report of its activities to the Riksdag. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.
The delegation to the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe works to create a common set of core values founded on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Sweden was one of the founders of the Council of Europe and its parliamentary assembly in 1949. The Council of Europe has 46 member countries today.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is primarily concerned with the core issues democracy and human rights, but current political issues are receiving increasing attention. Thanks to its topical debates and the positions it takes, the Parliamentary Assembly is a platform for discussion of issues of central importance for the future.
The Council of Europe is an institution with a normative role in European policy through the agreements, or conventions, that the member states have to follow. One of the most well-known conventions is the Convention on Human Rights.
Election-monitoring missions
An important task for members of parliament in the delegation to the Council of Europe is to examine how member states honour their commitments. Election-monitoring missions are an important part of this examination. They are organised in cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Europe (OSCE) and involve members of parliament visiting polling stations before and during election day to monitor whether the citizens of the country in question are given adequate opportunity to vote. Election-monitoring missions promote democratic development, and the Swedish delegation to the Council of Europe regularly participates in such missions.
Election-monitoring missions
Adopts resolutions and issues statements
The Council of Europe meets four times a year in Strasbourg, where the organisation is also based. At these meetings, also known as sessions, members of parliament debate reports and adopt joint resolutions, directives and recommendations to the Committee of Ministers. The Council of Europe also makes statements on topical issues.
The Assembly has ten specialised committees and one standing committee, which also meet between sessions. The committees are:
- The Standing Committee
- The Monitoring Committee
- The Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
- The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
- The Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
- The Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
- The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media
- The Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination
- The Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutions
- The Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights
The Council of Europe has five party groups:
- The Socialist Group (SOC)
- The Group of the European People's Party (EPP/CD)
- The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
- The European Conservatives Group & Democratic Alliance (EC/DA)
- The Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
The Swedish delegation
The Swedish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is elected by the Riksdag for a full electoral period, that is for a four-year period. The delegation consists of six ordinary members, including one chair and one deputy chair, plus six deputy members. Every year, the delegation submits an annual report of its activities to the Riksdag. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.
The OSCE delegation
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, is an organisation for security policy dialogue and cooperation in Europe. The organisation works to prevent conflicts and to protect human rights. An important task for its parliamentary assembly is to monitor parliamentary elections in different countries.
The OSCE was established in 1975, and the Parliamentary Assembly was formed in 1991. The Assembly consists of members of parliament from 57 participating states. In addition to countries in Europe, Russia, countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as the USA and Canada are also members. Each country is represented in relation to its size.
The OSCE's activities primarily focus on conflict-prevention measures, protection of national minorities, human rights, support for democracy-building, arms control and confidence- and security-building measures.
Adopts resolutions
The OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly debates topical issues and adopts non-binding resolutions designed to increase security and cooperation in Europe. Resolutions are not legally binding for the member states, but can influence their foreign policy.
The Parliamentary Assembly has three annual meetings, also called sessions: a winter meeting, a summer meeting and an autumn meeting. Every other year a special meeting is also held focusing on economic issues. Work is carried out in plenary sessions and in three committees. The committees are as follows:
- The General Committee on Political Affairs
- The General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment
- The General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions
The Assembly may also appoint special working groups for different subject areas or countries. Special representatives can also be appointed by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly to promote dialogue and to gain better knowledge of a specific issue.
Election-monitoring missions
In order to promote democratic development, the Parliamentary Assembly monitors parliamentary elections and, in certain cases, presidential elections, in various countries. The monitoring missions are often carried out in new democracies in the former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe, in Central Asia, as well as in the USA. These are sometimes carried out in collaboration with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament.
The Swedish OSCE delegation participates actively in the monitoring of elections. Whenever possible, members of the Riksdag who have received training also take part in the Swedish OSCE delegation during elections They then visit polling stations before and during election day in order to monitor compliance with election laws.
Election-monitoring missions
The Swedish delegation
The Riksdag delegation to the OSCE is elected by the Riksdag for an entire electoral period, that is for four years. The delegation comprises eight members, from whom a chair and deputy chair are elected at an inaugural meeting for the full electoral period. Every year, the delegation submits an annual report of its activities to the Riksdag. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.
The IPU delegation
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is a global organisation of parliaments of independent states. It was founded in 1889 with the purpose of working for peace and international cooperation. The organisation has 178 national parliaments as members.
Tasks of the organisation include promoting personal contacts between members of parliament throughout the world, and working for the development of parliamentary institutions. The IPU also helps to build democratic functions, working methods and smoothly functioning parliaments.
The IPU also works with development assistance. The work includes issues such as representative democracy, human rights, and in particular gender equality and the participation of women in politics. The organisation also safeguards the human rights of parliamentarians and promotes international security and sustainable development.
Over the years, the organisation has become closer to the UN and has had observer status in the General Assembly since 2002.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union Website
Non-binding resolutions
The IPU cannot take any decisions that are binding for the member states or parliaments. Instead, the IPU puts forward concrete proposals and adopts joint non-binding resolutions on the main topics debated at each meeting.
The organisation has four standing committees working on the following issues:
- Peace and International Security (First Committee)
- Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade (Second Committee)
- Democracy and Human Rights (Third Committee)
- United Nations Affairs (Fourth Committee)
The Swedish delegation
The Riksdag delegation to the IPU is appointed by the Speaker after consultation with the party group leaders in the Riksdag for one term of office, that is for a four-year period. The delegation consists of five people: the Chair, Deputy Chair and a further three members. At the assemblies, it is possible for the delegation to supplement its members with members who have special competence in the fields which are the main themes of the meeting in question. This makes it easier to link and integrate discussions from meetings into the work of the Riksdag committees.
Every year, the delegation submits a report of its activities to the the Riksdag Board. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.
NATO delegation
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is a forum for members of parliament from the NATO member states and associated members. The Assembly works with defence and security policy issues in a broad perspective. Since 2003, the Riksdag has been an associated member and has had full access to the activities of the Assembly since 2022.
NATO is a defence policy alliance between the USA, Canada and several countries in Europe. The organisation was founded in 1951. Parliamentary cooperation has been developed successively since 1955. Activities in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly started in their current form in 1967–1968. They aim to promote understanding among the parliamentarians of the Assembly for the security challenges facing NATO cooperation.
The Assembly follows NATO's agenda and its activities are shaped by NATO's political priorities and goals.
The website of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Participates in debates but does not vote
The Assembly gathers a large number of parliamentarians from member countries, associated countries, partner countries and observers.
The Swedish delegation was an observer to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly until 2003, when it acquired status as an associated member. When Sweden was granted invitee status in 2022, the Swedish Parliamentary Delegation to NATO was granted observer status at meetings which are normally only between the delegations of member countries. This means that Swedish members can participate in the debates and all the other activities that are arranged. However, they do not have the right to vote and do not pay a fee to the Assembly. Finland also has observer status with full access to the Assembly's meetings.
The Assembly meets at two annual meetings, known as sessions, in the spring and the autumn. The activities then take place partly at plenary meetings and partly in five committees.
The five committees are:
- the Defence and Security Committee
- the Economics and Security Committee
- the Political Committee
- the Science and Technology Committee
- the Committee on Democracy and Security
The committees present reports and proposals for resolutions on various subjects within their areas of activity. The reports and resolutions are debated during the spring session and are then adopted at the autumn session.
Exchange of knowledge in security policy matters
During the year, each committee also organises visits and seminars in various places in the member countries. Each year, Rose-Roth seminars are arranged with the purpose of exchange of knowledge and dialogue on topical security policy issues. These seminars are organised primarily in countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Swedish delegation
The Swedish Delegation to NATO is appointed by the Speaker, in consultation with the party group leaders in the Riksdag for a term of four years. The delegation consists of five ordinary members, including one chair and one deputy chair, plus five deputy members. Each year, the delegation presents an annual report to the Speaker which is also circulated to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Defence.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM)
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) is a meeting place for parliamentarians from the EU member states and the Mediterranean countries. The objective of the Assembly is to create a common area around the Mediterranean where there is peace and stability, shared prosperity and strengthened cooperation in social and cultural issues, based on fundamental principles such as respect for human rights and democracy.
The Swedish Parliament is a member of the PA-Ufm, but will not be nominating a delegation during the current term of office and will therefore not be participating in the work of the PA-UfM.
The PA-UfM has 280 members from the EU member states and the European Parliament as well as the partner countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority. Since 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Monaco, Montenegro, Albania and Mauritania have also participated.
The PA-UfM website
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC)
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, BSPC, is a forum for political dialogue between parliamentarians in the Baltic Sea region. The purpose of this parliamentary cooperation is to highlight and push issues of importance for the Baltic Sea region and to support various initiatives that promote environmentally and socially sustainable development.
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference takes place once a year and gathers parliamentarians from ten national parliaments, seven regional parliaments and five interparliamentary organisations around the Baltic Sea. The first Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference was held in Helsinki in 1991.
The BSPC website
Adopts resolutions
At the annual conference, the parliamentarians deal with specific policy areas that are important to the region. These include, for example, the environment, energy, the labour market, health and welfare. During the conferences, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) also presents its work and its priorities. The CBSS is an organisation for cooperation between the governments in the Baltic Sea region.
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference cannot take any decisions that are binding for the member states. Instead, the parliamentarians adopt non-binding resolutions with political recommendations to the governments in the cooperating member states.
The Standing Committee is the permanent political body of the Conference. Its primary task is to prepare the annual conference and to follow up resolutions.
Work is also conducted in working groups, where the members prepare reports and political recommendations in various policy areas. There are also specially appointed rapporteurs, with the task of monitoring various policy areas.
The Swedish delegation
The Speaker appoints the Swedish delegation after consulting the party group leaders in the Riksdag for one term of office, that is four years. The delegation consists of five members, including a chair and a deputy chair.
Each year, the delegation gives an account of its activities as part of the Nordic Council's annual report. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.
The Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (CPAR)
The Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (CPAR) is a forum for political dialogue between parliamentarians, that is, member of national parliaments, in the Arctic region. The purpose of this cooperation is to promote matters of importance for the Arctic region and its population. The focus is on the conditions for addressing the challenges and utilising the opportunities in a changed Arctic.
The conference is the parliamentary equivalent to the Arctic Council and participates in the Council's work as an observer.
The Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region takes place every other year and gathers parliamentarians from the eight national parliaments in the Arctic states and the European Parliament. Representatives of indigenous peoples are also included as permanent participants. Observers from parliaments and organisations with an interest in developments in the Arctic region also participate in the conference. The first conference was held in Reykjavik in 1993.
The CPAR website
Adopts resolutions
At the conference, the parliamentarians deal with specific policy areas that are important to the region. Special importance is attached to climate change, economic developments in the region and a sustainable use of natural resources, the living conditions of the population and civil security in the region.
During the conference, government representatives give an account of work in the Arctic Council. The conference closes with the parliamentarians adopting a non-binding resolution containing recommendations to the governments of the Arctic states, the Arctic Council and – where relevant – the EU institutions.
The Standing Committee is the permanent political body of the CPAR. The Committee's primary task is to prepare the annual conference and to follow up resolutions. Ahead of each conference, the Committee appoints rapporteurs for the various themes of the coming conference.
The Swedish delegation
The Speaker appoints the Swedish delegation after consulting the party group leaders in the Riksdag for one term of office, that is four years. The delegation consists of five members, including one chair and one deputy chair. Each year, the delegation gives an account of its activities as part of the Nordic Council's annual report. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.
Parliamentary Barents cooperation
Parliamentary Barents cooperation has the purpose of highlighting and promoting issues of common interest to countries and regions in the Barents region. This includes northern Finland, northern Sweden, northern Norway and north-western Russia.
Barents cooperation was initiated in 1993 and is based on the Kirkenes Declaration. The purpose was to secure peace, stability and progress in the region. On the governmental side, cooperation is led by the foreign ministers in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC). Cooperation also takes place between the regions in the Barents area, and is led by the Barents Regional Committee (BRC).
Website of Barents Parliamentary Cooperation
Parliamentary conference every other year
The parliamentary cooperation has the nature of a network and therefore has no statutes or permanent bodies. Examples of recurring topics are the environment, climate, infrastructure, international contacts, the conditions of indigenous peoples, innovations and economic development in the region.
Every other year a Barents Parliamentary Conference is held, during which parliamentarians, representatives of counties and regions in the Barents region participate. Indigenous peoples’ organisations and other relevant organisations are also represented.
The Swedish delegation
Five members of the Riksdag normally participate in the conferences. Ahead of each conference, the party groups nominate members, after which the Speaker determines the composition of the delegations. During the conference, a non-binding resolution is adopted, with political recommendations to the governments in the region. Each year, the delegation gives an account of its activities as part of the Nordic Council's annual report. The report is considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a debate is held in the Chamber.