The role of authorities in permit processes

The plan establishes that long-term environmental considerations must be paramount and that environmental threats require forceful legislation, which speaks against the Riksdag urging the authorities to be more accommodating to the mining industry in permit review. The counter-proposal's line, that such an urging is unnecessary, thus lies closer to the plan. The plan says nothing, however, about the design of the permit processes, which is why the assessment is uncertain.

• environmental considerations paramountdecisive»de långsiktiga miljöhänsynen måste vara överordnade« (party programme ↗)“long-term environmental considerations must be paramount”
• forceful environmental legislation»Därför behövs en kraftfull lagstiftning, ekonomiska styrmedel« (party programme ↗)“Therefore, forceful legislation and economic instruments are needed”
• environmental interests against business interests»Miljöintressen kan komma« (party programme ↗)“Environmental interests can come”

The counter-proposal does not want the government to be prompted to do anything, citing that investigations are already underway. The plan's commitment goes in the opposite direction: bureaucratic barriers shall be torn down and slow permit processes shall be expedited, which argues for the authorities to work more solution-oriented already now. The programme's requirement for fairness and equal treatment before the law sets the frame but does not prevent such a directive.

• faster permit processesdecisive»Långsamma tillståndsprocesser ska snabbas på.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Slow permit processes shall be expedited.”
• tear down bureaucratic barriers»Riv de byråkratiska hindren för mer el.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Tear down the bureaucratic barriers for more electricity.”
• fair exercise of authority»beakta allas likhet inför lagen och iaktta saklighet och opartiskhet.« (party programme ↗)“respect everyone's equality before the law and observe fairness and impartiality.”

The counter-proposal rejects a recommendation that authorities should work more solution-oriented for the mining and minerals sector's permit processes. The party programme establishes that the mining sector shall be based on long-term stewardship and that environmental considerations shall outweigh short-term exploitation interests, with the precautionary principle as the guiding star. Not giving authorities such a business-friendly recommendation is therefore closer to the plan.

• environmental considerations before exploitationdecisive»mineraltillgångar. Miljöhänsyn ska väga tyngre än« (party programme ↗)“mineral resources. Environmental considerations shall outweigh”
• the precautionary principle shall be applied»ska försiktighetsprincipen tillämpas så långt det är« (party programme ↗)“shall the precautionary principle be applied as far as it is”
• strengthened protection of biotopes»våtmarker, stränder och flera andra biotoper måste« (party programme ↗)“wetlands, beaches and several other biotopes must”

The plan requires that the time for permits for green investments is halved, that the Environmental Code is reformed and that lead times in government administration are shortened - the climate according to the plan cannot wait for complicated regulations. To refrain from a call to the agencies with reference to that investigations are already underway therefore goes against the plan's impatience in permit issues. The plan also wants Sweden to extract more minerals and metals.

• halved permit timesdecisive»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 review.”
• impatience on permit issues»Klimatet kan inte vänta på dyra och krångliga regelverk.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated regulations.”
• shorter lead times»Ledtiderna för handläggning och myndighetsutövning i domstolar och myndigheter måste kortas och tillgången till ombud förbättras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Lead times for processing and government administration in courts and agencies must be shortened and access to counsel improved.”
• Swedish mineral extraction»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 carbon footprints and worse working conditions.”

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 counter-proposal wants to abstain from the call for more advisory and solution-oriented authorities by reference to ongoing investigations. The plan is instead clear that policy must quickly remove obstacles to enterprise, shorten processes and reduce regulatory burden, which speaks for making the call. The plan therefore does not support abstaining.

• remove obstacles for enterprisedecisive»Politikens uppgift måste vara att snabbt undanröja hinder för att underlätta för företag« (party programme ↗)“Policy's task must be to quickly remove obstacles to facilitate for enterprises”
• shorter permit processes»korta överklagandeprocesserna« (2022 manifesto ↗)“shorten appeal processes”
• reduced regulatory burden»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska« (party programme ↗)“The regulatory burden on small enterprises shall decrease”

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 counter-proposal claims that an exhortation for more advisory and solution-oriented authorities is unnecessary. The plan points in the opposite direction: permit-granting and planning processes shall be characterized by efficiency and good service, bureaucracy and complicated rules should be counteracted and new rules should be tested from a small business perspective. The plan thus provides support for the exhortation, not for refraining from it.

• authorities' service ethicdecisive»planprocessen måste också präglas av effektivitet och god serviceanda« (party programme ↗)“planning process must also be characterized by efficiency and good service”
• business perspective in rule-making»Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Incoming laws should be tested from a small business perspective.”
• predictable state rules»Det är viktigt att de regler staten ställer upp för« (party programme ↗)“It is important that the rules the state sets up for”

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 calls for actively shorter and simpler licensing processes: a backstop deadline for government agencies' handling and simplified review for industry, in combination with continued mineral extraction. It therefore does not settle for waiting for ongoing inquiries, which is what the counter-proposal wants. Therefore the position that a call to the government is unnecessary is rejected.

• backstop deadline for handlingdecisive»Korta myndigheternas handläggningstider genom en bortre tidsgräns« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce government agencies' processing times through a backstop deadline”
• simplified licensing processes»vi förkorta och förenkla tillståndsprocesser för industrier som satsar på omställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“we shorten and simplify licensing processes for industries pursuing transition”
• faster environmental permits»Minska antalet regler för jordbruket och korta handläggningstider för miljötillstånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce the number of regulations for agriculture and shorten processing times for environmental permits”
• responsible mineral extraction»Våra rika mineraltillgångar ska kunna utvinnas ansvarsfullt och långsiktigt hållbart.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our rich mineral resources shall be able to be extracted responsibly and long-term sustainably.”

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 says that authorities must not be companies' enemies but shall have a more supportive function, and that permit processes for mining and industry shall be streamlined and become more predictable. The counter-proposal wishes to refrain from such a call with reference to ongoing investigations. This goes against the plan's demand that authorities work solution-oriented already now.

• supportive authoritiesdecisive»Myndigheterna får inte bli företagens fiender som sätter käppar i hjulen utan måste få en mer stödjande funktion.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Authorities must not become companies' enemies putting spokes in the wheels but must get a more supportive function.”
• faster mining permits»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and increase predictability in permit processes for mining, power grid expansion and industry.”
• authorities in community of interest»Rättssäkerheten behöver stärkas för den som bedriver näring inom jord- och skogsbruk och myndigheternas arbete behöver i högre grad anpassas för att verka i intressegemenskap med markägare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Legal security needs to be strengthened for those conducting activities within agriculture and forestry and the work of authorities needs to a higher degree be adapted to work in community of interest with landowners.”
• criticism of slow processes»Tillståndsprocesser är ofta långa och oförutsägbara« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Permit processes are often long and unpredictable.”