Government legislative proposal

The party programme requires that mining is operated with a long-term comprehensive perspective that weighs local natural values, and that environmental goals are followed up with sharp legislation. Dividing the review of Natura 2000 areas between concession and environmental review weakens that comprehensive view and creates ambiguity, which the counter-proposal objects to. The plan also requires that legislative proposals are developed with time and careful consideration.

• comprehensive approach to mining reviewdecisive»ett långsiktigt helhetsperspektiv som ser till såväl de globala behoven som lokala naturvärden« (party programme ↗)“a long-term comprehensive perspective that looks to both global needs and local natural values”
• sharp environmental legislation»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental goals that are followed up with sharp legislation and practical work.”
• collectively owned mining»Vi vill gå mot ett större gemensamt ägande av gruvbrytningen i« (party programme ↗)“We want to move toward greater shared ownership of mining in”
• careful legislation development»Att utveckla kloka politiska lösningar kräver alltid tid och eftertanke.« (party programme ↗)“Developing wise political solutions always requires time and careful consideration.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires that environmental consideration is built in from the start and that biological diversity is protected, which argues for the Natura 2000 issue to be tested comprehensively and early in mine licensing rather than divided. The counter-proposal's objection about ambiguity between assessments is in line with this. The election manifesto's demand for faster permit processes points partly the other way, but applies to electricity production and power grids.

• environmental requirements built in from the startdecisive»Hänsynen till miljöns krav ska byggas in i produktionsprocesserna redan från början.« (party programme ↗)“Consideration of the environment's requirements must be built into the production processes from the start.”
• protect biological diversity»biologiska mångfalden måste skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“biological diversity must be protected.”
• faster permit processes»Långsamma tillståndsprocesser ska snabbas på.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Slow permit processes must be speeded up.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan stipulates that environmental considerations must weigh more heavily than short-term development interests and that the precautionary principle must be applied as far as possible, and that the protection of sensitive habitats must be strengthened. To divide the examination of Natura 2000 areas and postpone it to a later stage weakens that examination, which is why the counter-proposal's objection is supported by the plan.

• environmental considerations before developmentdecisive»Miljöhänsyn ska väga tyngre än« (party programme ↗)“Environmental considerations must weigh more heavily than”
• the precautionary principle»ska försiktighetsprincipen tillämpas så långt det är« (party programme ↗)“the precautionary principle must be applied as far as it is”
• responsibility for biodiversity»Bruk av skog, vatten och« (party programme ↗)“Use of forest, water and”
• protection of valuable nature»skydda 30 procent av Sveriges natur, bland annat våra unika sammanhängande fjällskogar och skyddsvärda skogar i hela landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“protect 30 percent of Sweden's nature, including our unique contiguous mountain forests and conservation-worthy forests throughout the country”

The plan's clearest commitment in the area is to halve the time for permits for green investments and reform the Environmental Code, and that Sweden shall extract more minerals and metals instead of importing them. An arrangement where the Natura 2000 question is tested in environmental permit assessment aligns with that striving for faster and more predictable assessment. The counter-proposal's demand to keep the assessment at concession therefore receives no support, even though the plan shares its demand for predictable rules.

• faster permit assessmentdecisive»Det är dags att halvera tiden det tar att få tillstånd för gröna investeringar och reformera miljöbalken så att ett projekts klimatnytta ges större vikt i miljöprövningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is time to halve the time it takes to get permits for green investments and reform the Environmental Code so that a project's climate benefit is given greater weight in environmental assessment.”
• extract more minerals in Sweden»Det är bättre att Sverige tar ansvar och utvinner mer mineral och metaller istället för att fortsätta importera dem från länder med större klimatavtryck och sämre arbetsvillkor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is better for Sweden to take responsibility and extract more minerals and metals instead of continuing to import them from countries with larger climate footprint and worse working conditions.”
• remove regulatory obstacles»Klimatet kan inte vänta på dyra och krångliga regelverk.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated rules.”
• predictable rules»Ekonomin ska ha givna och förutsägbara spelregler« (party programme ↗)“The economy shall have given and predictable rules of the game”

The plan says nothing about how the Natura 2000 assessment shall relate to extraction concession versus environmental permit. The nearest principle is that policy shall quickly remove obstacles for business and that permit and appeals processes shall be shortened, which argues against postponing the bill for further amendments. The plan's requirement for renewed nature conservation pulls in another direction but does not reach this assessment procedure.

• shorter permit processesdecisive»korta överklagandeprocesserna och fortsätta förenkla byggreglerna« (2022 manifesto ↗)“shorten appeals processes and continue simplifying building regulations”
• remove obstacles for business»Politikens uppgift måste vara att snabbt undanröja hinder för att underlätta för företag och« (party programme ↗)“Politics' task must be to quickly remove obstacles to facilitate for business and”
• strengthened nature conservation»Naturvården måste få en renässans.« (party programme ↗)“Nature conservation must experience a renaissance.”

The party programme requires long-term and sustainable rules where production and environmental targets have the same standing, and that appraisal processes are marked by efficiency and good service spirit toward those who want to build and develop. Examining the Natura 2000 issue in environmental permitting is in that direction, while the counter-proposal wants to keep the examination at the concession stage. The plan's requirement for preserved biological diversity qualifies.

• efficient appraisal processesdecisive»planprocessen måste också präglas av effektivitet och god serviceanda« (party programme ↗)“the planning process must also be characterized by efficiency and good service spirit”
• production and environment as equal targets»Det är angeläget att dessa mål har samma prioritet och dignitet« (party programme ↗)“It is important that these targets have the same priority and standing”
• preserved biological diversity»Bevarande av den biologiska mångfalden kräver« (party programme ↗)“Preservation of biological diversity requires”

The plan wants Sweden's rich mineral resources to be extracted responsibly and for the permit processes to be shortened and simplified, with an outer time limit for the authorities' processing. Moving the Natura 2000 assessment to the environmental assessment serves that purpose, while the counter-proposal wants to retain a more comprehensive assessment at the concession level. The plan therefore does not support the counter-proposal's requirement.

• mineral extraction shall be enableddecisive»Våra rika mineraltillgångar ska kunna utvinnas ansvarsfullt och långsiktigt hållbart.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our rich mineral resources shall be extracted responsibly and sustainably long-term.”
• simplified permit processes»Utöver det vill vi förkorta och förenkla tillståndsprocesser för industrier som satsar på omställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Beyond that, we want to shorten and simplify permit processes for industries investing in transition”
• shorter processing times»Korta myndigheternas handläggningstider genom en bortre tidsgräns« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Shorten the authorities' processing times through an outer time limit”

The plan requires that permit processes for mining are streamlined, accelerated and become more predictable, and that it should become easier to open mines for the minerals needed. The counter-proposal instead wants to reverse the proposed examination procedure, which extends and complicates the concession assessment. The plan's commitment regarding the role of the Legal Council weighs somewhat against this, but does not support the demand in substance.

• effective permit processesdecisive»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and increase predictability in permit processes for mining, electricity network expansion and industry”
• faster examination»Tillståndsprocesser för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri behöver effektiviseras och göras snabbare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Permit processes for mining, electricity network expansion and industry need to be streamlined and made faster.”
• easier to open mines»Det behöver också bli enklare och gå snabbare att öppna gruvor för de mineraler som behövs för exempelvis tillverkning av batterier.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It also needs to become easier and faster to open mines for the minerals needed for example for battery manufacturing.”
• the Legal Council's position»Lagrådets ställning bör stärkas genom att utreda möjligheten att fordra kvalificerad majoritet i riksdagen vid antaganden av lagförslag om vilka Lagrådet riktat kritik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The position of the Legal Council should be strengthened by investigating the possibility of requiring qualified majority in the Riksdag when adopting bills on which the Legal Council has directed criticism.”