News

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.

Wednesday 20 January 2021 The Riksdag would like an independent commission of inquiry to evaluate the Government's actions to promote the release of the Swedish citizens Dawit Isaak and Gui Minhai. The Riksdag therefore calls on the Government to act on this by way of an announcement.

Monday 18 January 2021 A debate on EU policy will take place at the Riksdag on Wednesday 20 January. The Minister for EU Affairs Hans Dahlgren (Social Democratic Party) will open the debate with a presentation of the Government's priorities in its work with EU matters. The other parties represented in the Riksdag will decide themselves who is to participate in the debate.

Tuesday 12 January 2021 A debate between party leaders will be held at the Riksdag on Wednesday 13 January. During the debate, the leaders of all the parties represented in the Riksdag will have the opportunity to argue in favour of the policies they wish to pursue.

Photo: Anders Löwdin

Monday 11 January 2021 The new unicameral Riksdag held its first meeting on 11 January 1971. A process that had continued for several decades finally led to the bicameral Riksdag – which had been introduced with the representational reforms of 1866 – being replaced by a single-chamber parliament.

Friday 8 January 2021 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal to introduce a temporary law and certain legislative amendments to enable more measures to be taken to counteract congestion and thus prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Friday 8 January 2021 A presidential election will be held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 January. Four Swedish MPs are included in an international delegation to observe the election.

Tuesday 29 December 2020 The Riksdag has been summoned to convene in the first week of January in order to consider a provisional act to prevent the spread of COVID-19 – the “pandemic act”.

Monday 21 December 2020 On 16 December, the Riksdag Board decided to convene a cross-party committee to conduct a follow-up of the work of the Riksdag and the Riksdag Administration during the corona pandemic. The inquiry will be led by the former Speaker of the Riksdag Per Westerberg and will report its findings by 30 September 2021 at the latest.

Thursday 17 December 2020 A temporary law that makes it possible to implement more accurate measures is required in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. This is the opinion of the Riksdag, which urges the Government by way of an announcement to promptly get back to the Riksdag with a proposal for a temporary law. 

Wednesday 16 December 2020 Beslut The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal on an amendment to the Act on Support in the Event of Short-time Work which will mean that employers who are receiving support for providing short-time work and who are arranging competency measures will have the opportunity to receive compensation for such measures.

Wednesday 16 December 2020 Beslut The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal on amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act. One of the effects of this will be that temporary legislative amendments on account of COVID-19 are to be extended until 1 January 2023.

Wednesday 16 December 2020 The Riksdag has decided on an amendment to the Student Aid Act which will mean that in the event of extraordinary events in peace time the Government can decide that a higher amount than normal may be provided in the form of an extra loan to those who have worked previously.

Tuesday 15 December 2020 The European Commission has drawn up a proposal for an EU law containing a framework for minimum wages in the EU. The Riksdag has examined the legislative proposal in accordance with the requirements of the principle of subsidiarity, which state that the EU shall legislate in a particular matter if the objectives of the proposed measure cannot be achieved as well by the member states themselves. The Riksdag considers that the Commission's proposal conflicts with the principle of subsidiarity and intends to make comments in a reasoned opinion to the EU's decision-making institutions.

Tuesday 15 December 2020 Sweden should, like Finland, express that it is in favour of having a NATO option in order to strengthen security and defence policy cooperation. The Riksdag therefore urged the Government by way of an announcement to act on this. The NATO option means, among other things, that Sweden maintains the option to seek membership in the NATO defence alliance.

Tuesday 15 December 2020 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal, among other things, on an overall objective for total defence. The Riksdag also called on the Government by way of an announcement to appoint an inquiry with the task of submitting proposals on what form modern civil defence should take.

Photo: Anders Löwdin

Thursday 10 December 2020 Gender equality and the importance of opposition are examples of themes for the Riksdag's newly started democratic development cooperation with the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia. This was agreed upon when the parliaments of the two countries held their first digital meeting on 7 December. The cooperation is planned to continue for two to three years with the possibility of an extension and is headed by a steering group consisting of representatives of all the parties of the Riksdag.

Wednesday 9 December 2020 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal to extend the period of validity of the act on temporary communicable disease control measures at venues serving food and drink.

Wednesday 9 December 2020 The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government's proposal that the Act on the register of national vaccination programmes should also include vaccinations against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). According to the proposal, the care provider responsible for the COVID-19 vaccination shall also provide information about the dose number of the vaccination to the register.