News

Wednesday 3 March 2021 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal on a further additional amending budget in order to mitigate the consequences of the spread of the coronavirus. As a result of the decision, the sickness insurance system will become more flexible than it is today for certain people on long-term sick leave.

Wednesday 3 March 2021 A "language duty" is to be introduced, which means that an individual must, if necessary, participate in Swedish for Immigrants (sfi) training in order to be considered available for employment. The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposed legislative amendment.

Wednesday 3 March 2021 The Government has proposed that companies experiencing difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic should continue – for a limited period – to receive support under the Energy Tax Act. This has been made possible by amendments to EU rules on state support in response to the pandemic.

Photo: Tomas Oneborg / TT

Wednesday 3 March 2021 The tax is to be raised during the first three years for new cars, light-duty buses and lorries fuelled by petrol and diesel. The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal which is intended to strengthen the bonus-malus system and increase the proportion of vehicles with lower carbon dioxide emissions in new car sales.

Thursday 25 February 2021 Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on, tax and charge exemption for the benefits of free parking and gifts to employees should be reinstated. This is the opinion of the Riksdag, which calls on the Government to act by way of an announcement.

Thursday 25 February 2021 The Riksdag rejected approx. 120 proposals in motions from the general private members' motions period 2020. The main reason for this is that work is already in progress in this area.

Thursday 25 February 2021 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal on further measures in an additional amending budget for 2021 in order to alleviate the effects of the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, central government expenditure will increase by SEK 12.4 billion in 2021.

Photo: Anders Löwdin

Wednesday 24 February 2021 The foreign policy debate was held in the Riksdag on Wednesday 24 February at 9 a.m. The Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde (Social Democratic Party) introduced the debate with a presentation of the Government's Statement of Foreign Policy. 

Wednesday 24 February 2021 The foreign policy debate will be held in the Riksdag on Wednesday 24 February at 9 a.m. The Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde (Social Democratic Party) will introduce the debate with a presentation of the Government's Statement of Foreign Policy. The foreign policy debate takes place once a year and is divided into two parts. In the first part, one representative from each party participates. In the second half of the debate, the members who would like to speak are given the opportunity to take the floor. The first part of the debate is interpreted into English and can be viewed via the Riksdag webcast service. Statement of Government Foreign Policy(pdf, 162 kB)

Wednesday 10 February 2021 Beslut An exploration permit under the Minerals Act grants the permit holder the exclusive right to map the characteristics of bedrock. The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal on amendments to the Minerals Act. The purpose for this is to make it easier for prospecting companies who risk being badly hit by the effects of the corona pandemic.

Foto: Riksdagsförvaltningen

Thursday 4 February 2021 At the initiative of Swedish Delegation to the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), a seminar was held on the theme of Democracy in a Changing Media Landscape. 60 people from national and regional parliaments from around the Baltic Sea participated in the seminar. Issues such as disinformation, fake news and the freedom of the press were on the agenda.

Wednesday 3 February 2021 The Government has proposed further measures in response to the continued spread of the coronavirus. The Riksdag voted in favour of the proposal which includes new and extended support to companies and more money for testing and vaccinations.

Wednesday 3 February 2021 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal on a further additional amending budget for 2021 on account of the continued spread of COVID-19. Central government expenditure for 2021 will thus increase by SEK 18.6 billion, mainly due to increased economic assistance to companies.

Tuesday 2 February 2021 On 25–28 January, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, PACE, held their winter session. The session included debates on issues such as ethical, legal and practical considerations in connection with vaccinations against COVID-19, the arrest of Alexei Navalny in Russia and the importance of politically independent judges in the courts of member states. The Riksdag delegation consisting of 12 MPs participated in the winter session.

Photo: Anders Löwdin

Monday 1 February 2021 On Holocaust Remembrance Day 27 January this year, a digital ceremony was arranged, recorded at the Riksdag. The Riksdag network Remembrance of the Holocaust organised the event.

Wednesday 27 January 2021 The Riksdag voted against the Government's proposal on the incorporation of the Amending Directive to the EU's Firearms Directive into Swedish law.

Wednesday 27 January 2021 On account of the corona pandemic, during 2020 the Riksdag decided on a number of forms of crisis support in order to save jobs and to enable healthy companies to make it through the pandemic. Now, the Riksdag believes that this crisis support needs to be adjusted to enable it to reach its intended recipients to a greater extent. The Riksdag therefore called on the Government by way of two announcements to act as follows.

Wednesday 27 January 2021 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal regarding a new act on banning orders for retail stores. According to the proposal, it shall be possible, under special circumstances, to ban a person from entering a retail store if there is a risk that the person will commit an offence or seriously harass someone in the store.

Photo: Riksdagsförvaltningen

Friday 22 January 2021 On Tuesday 26 January it will be exactly one hundred years since the Swedish Parliament took the second and final decision to introduce universal and equal suffrage. One of the ways in which this will be celebrated will be with a light show projected onto the main façade of the Riksdag building facing Norrbro.

Wednesday 20 January 2021 In order to secure Sweden's transport needs during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it will be possible to extend the period of validity of drivers' certificates of professional competence by six months. The reason is that the pandemic makes it difficult to implement the further training that the drivers need to complete at regular intervals in order to renew their certificates. The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal.