Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The election manifesto's binding commitment is to require collective agreements in public procurement, and the programme wants procurement to be used strategically to guarantee and strengthen labour rights and working conditions. The counter-proposal instead wants to avoid requirements that bind procurement to labour market policy models and raise the threshold for direct procurement, which reduces precisely the governance the plan requires. The demand for increased openness is insufficient for the plan to support the proposal substantively.

• collective agreements in procurementdecisive»Vänsterpartiet ställer krav på kollektivavtal vid offentliga upphandlingar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party requires collective agreements in public procurement.”
• strategic procurement for labour rights»måste användas strategiskt av upphandlare på olika nivåer« (party programme ↗)“must be used strategically by procurers at various levels”
• no tax money without collective agreements»till arbetsgivare som saknar kollektivavtal.« (party programme ↗)“to employers without collective agreements.”
• procurement as a political tool»Offentlig upphandling är ett viktigt verktyg för omställningen.« (party programme ↗)“Public procurement is an important tool for the transition.”

The plan's line is that public employers and procurement bodies shall be models for promoting healthy competition and that labor crime should be removed from the labor market. An increased direct procurement threshold and fewer requirements in procurement remove precisely this tool, and the programme wants instead to expand the possibility of directing procurement, including to non-profit actors. The demand for increased transparency regarding direct purchases, however, is in line with the plan.

• procurement as modeldecisive»Arbetslivs kriminalitet ska inte finnas på svensk arbetsmarknad och offentliga arbetsgivare och upphandlare ska vara föredömen i att verka för en sund konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Labor crime should not exist on the Swedish labor market and public employers and procurement bodies should be models for promoting healthy competition.”
• politically directed procurement»möjligt att rikta upphandlingar enbart till non profit-aktörer.« (party programme ↗)“possible to direct procurement only to non-profit actors.”
• strong action against labor crime»Krafttag mot arbetslivskriminaliteten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strong action against labor crime.”
• effective competition»konkurrenslagstiftning ska motverka monopol och koncentration.« (party programme ↗)“competition legislation shall counteract monopoly and concentration.”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan's key commitment on procurement is that requirements shall be set for environment, social conditions and working environment and that environmental and quality aspects shall weigh significantly more than today. Raising the threshold for direct procurement while simultaneously avoiding requirements linked to labour market policy models removes exactly that requirement-setting. The plan's wish that small enterprises can participate and that corruption be counteracted pulls partly in the opposite direction, which is why the certainty is low.

• social requirements in procurementdecisive»krav ställas vad gäller miljö, sociala villkor samt« (party programme ↗)“requirements be set regarding environment, social conditions and”
• environmental and quality requirements heavier»redovisas öppet. Vid offentliga upphandlingar ska« (party programme ↗)“are disclosed openly. In public procurement,”
• small enterprises should be able to participate»byggföretag goda förutsättningar att delta. Marknadens spelregler måste dessutom vara tydliga och« (party programme ↗)“construction companies good opportunities to participate. Market rules must also be clear and”
• counteract corruption»kunna granska makten. Alla former av korruption« (party programme ↗)“be able to scrutinise power. All forms of corruption”

The plan wants to clear up the regulatory jungle for entrepreneurs and notes that small and newly started businesses have the hardest time bearing extensive bureaucracy, which is precisely the threshold a higher direct procurement limit removes. The plan requires increased transparency and tightened rules against corruption, which corresponds to the counter-proposal's demands for openness around direct purchases. Procurement rules are not treated explicitly in the plan.

• less regulatory burdendecisive»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clear up the regulatory jungle for entrepreneurs, large and small.”
• small businesses' thresholds»Små och nystartade företag har svårare att få tillgång till kapital och att bära omfattande byråkrati« (party programme ↗)“Small and newly started businesses find it harder to get access to capital and to bear extensive bureaucracy”
• openness against corruption»Sverige ska bli ännu mer transparent. Vi vill inrätta en antikorruptionsmyndighet, skärpa regler mot korruption och införa ett lobbyregister.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall become even more transparent. We want to establish an anti-corruption agency, tighten rules against corruption and introduce a lobbying register.”
• easy to run a business»Det ska vara lätt att starta och driva företag; det ska löna sig att ta klivet och satsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It should be easy to start and run a business; it should pay to take the step and invest.”

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 regulatory burden for small businesses be reduced, that government decisions be analysed from a small business perspective and that public procurement provide low costs, equal treatment and stimulated competition. A raised direct procurement threshold with increased transparency lowers precisely the barriers that exclude smaller businesses, and transparency is the plan's answer to corruption risks. The plan mentions no specific amount, so the support is derived.

• reduced regulatory burdendecisive»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska« (party programme ↗)“The regulatory burden for small businesses shall be reduced”
• small business perspective in decisions»offentliga beslut analyseras ur småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“government decisions are analysed from a small business perspective.”
• efficient procurement with competition»Offentlig upphandling ska ske på sätt som ger skattebetalarna låga kostnader,« (party programme ↗)“Public procurement shall be conducted in ways that give taxpayers low costs,”
• transparency against corruption»Offentlighetsprincipen har en grundläggande betydelse för att förankra och fördjupa folkstyret« (party programme ↗)“The principle of public access has fundamental importance for anchoring and deepening democratic governance”

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 puts small and medium-sized businesses at the center of business policy and requires that new regulations be examined from an SME perspective and that bureaucracy be counteracted. Transparency and access to information are meanwhile central values. A raised threshold for direct procurement with increased openness lowers barriers for smaller businesses and thus follows the plan.

• SMEs at the centerdecisive»De små och medelstora företagen, som ofta är familjeföretag« (party programme ↗)“Small and medium-sized businesses, which are often family businesses”
• SME perspective on rules»Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“New laws should be examined from an SME perspective.”
• procurement in competition»Övrig offentlig verksamhet, som inte är myndighetsutövning, bör« (party programme ↗)“Other public activity, which is not authority exercise, should”
• openness and transparency»Offentlighetsprincipen, det vill säga tillgången till« (party programme ↗)“The principle of public access, i.e., access to”

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 states that cumbersome bureaucracy holds back businesses and promises to remove a third of red tape and administrative costs. A higher threshold for direct procurement with strengthened transparency lowers precisely the threshold that excludes small businesses, and the state should, according to the plan, promote competition. The plan therefore supports the demand, even though procurement rules are not particularly mentioned.

• reduced red tapedecisive»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove a third of companies' administrative costs and a third of red tape”
• bureaucracy hinders growth»Men höga skatter, krångliga tillståndsprocesser och byråkrati sätter käppar i hjulet för innovation och tillväxt. Det kan vi aldrig acceptera.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“But high taxes, cumbersome permit processes and bureaucracy hold back innovation and growth. We can never accept that.”
• good conditions for business»Villkoren för att starta, växa och expandera behöver vara goda för att fler ska våga lämna trygga och välbetalda jobb för att starta företag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Conditions for starting, growing and expanding must be good so that more people dare to leave secure and well-paid jobs to start businesses.”
• the state should promote competition»skydda penningvärdet, främja konkurrensen« (party programme ↗)“protect the value of money, promote competition”

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 explicitly points out that unnecessarily strict conditions in procurement make it difficult for smaller actors to enter the market and demands regulatory simplification that relieves small businesses' administrative burden. A raised direct procurement threshold with increased openness lowers precisely such barriers, and the plan's requirement to prevent fraud and corruption supports the transparency requirement. The plan furthermore wants to abolish ineffective labour market programs.

• lower thresholds in procurementdecisive»Onödigt stränga villkor i branschstandarder och i upphandlingar gör det ofta svårt för mindre aktörer att slå sig in på marknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Unnecessarily strict conditions in industry standards and in procurement often make it difficult for smaller actors to break into the market.”
• regulatory simplification for small businesses»Verka för regelförenkling och avlasta småföretagens administrativa börda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for regulatory simplification and relieve small businesses' administrative burden”
• counter corruption»Både fusk och sådana system som tenderar att locka till fusk och korruption ska motverkas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Both fraud and such systems that tend to invite fraud and corruption shall be countered.”
• no to old labour market models»Avskaffa ineffektiva arbetsmarknads- och integrationsprogram som är skapade för att dölja arbetslöshet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish ineffective labour market and integration programs that are created to hide unemployment”