Internationalization

The plan establishes that all higher education in Sweden shall be tuition-free, without exception for non-European students. To abolish tuition fees and investigate how it can be implemented is thus exactly what the plan demands. The plan also wants it to become easier to get an education regardless of who you are and the thickness of your wallet. The plan supports the demand.

• tuition-free higher educationdecisive»Därför ska all högre utbildning i Sverige vara avgiftsfri.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore all higher education in Sweden shall be tuition-free.”
• education regardless of wallet»Det måste bli lättare att utbilda sig efter grundskolan oavsett vem du är, tjockleken på din plånbok eller var i landet du bor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It must become easier to study after primary school regardless of who you are, the thickness of your wallet or where in the country you live.”
• education without market logic»Vänsterpartiet motsätter sig också alla försök att privatisera universitet och högskolor.« (party programme ↗)“The Left Party also opposes all attempts to privatise universities and colleges.”
• public funding of institutions»Vänsterpartiet vill värna universitetens oberoende och finansiering och höja studiestödet så att fler kan välja att vidareutbilda sig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to protect universities' independence and funding and raise student support so that more can choose to pursue further education.”

The programme establishes that higher education run by the public sector should be free of charge, which is precisely what the counter-proposal requires for non-European students. The knowledge society should moreover be open and accessible to everyone on equal terms. Investigating how charges can be abolished thus follows directly from the plan.

• free higher educationdecisive»ska vara avgiftsfria liksom högskoleutbildning i samhällelig regi.« (party programme ↗)“shall be free of charge like higher education run by the public sector.”
• education accessible to all»Socialdemokratin vill skapa ett verkligt kunskapssamhälle, byggt på både bildning och« (party programme ↗)“Social democracy wants to create a real knowledge society, built on both education and”
• knowledge as a tool for freedom»Kunskap och kultur är verktyg för människors personliga frihet och utveckling.« (party programme ↗)“Knowledge and culture are tools for people's personal freedom and development.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme establishes as a fundamental principle that all higher education shall be free of charge for all students. It also seeks broad recruitment to higher education and sees international cooperation and solidarity as universal. That tuition fees for students from outside Europe be abolished therefore follows directly from the plan.

• tuition-free higher educationdecisive»fungerande skyddsnät vid sjukdom. En grundläggande princip är att all högre utbildning ska vara« (party programme ↗)“functioning safety net during illness. A fundamental principle is that all higher education shall be”
• broad recruitment»Vi eftersträvar en bred rekrytering till högre« (party programme ↗)“We seek broad recruitment to higher”
• international experience merits»Arbetslivserfarenhet och andra språk ska ses som« (party programme ↗)“Work experience and other languages shall be seen as”
• universal solidarity»Medmänsklighet och solidaritet är universellt. Alla« (party programme ↗)“Humanity and solidarity are universal. Everyone”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme makes it a precondition for innovation and competitiveness that education is attractive to foreign students, and the party strives for open borders and sees the world as an opportunity. Abolishing study fees for non-European students serves that openness. At the same time, the plan demands thrift with tax funds, which makes support uncertain.

• attract foreign studentsdecisive»utbildningen är attraktiv för utländska studenter och internationella forskare« (party programme ↗)“education is attractive to foreign students and international researchers”
• openness and free movement»Centerpartiet strävar efter öppna gränser, fri rörlighet samt en generös och human flykting- och invandringspolitik.« (party programme ↗)“The Centre Party strives for open borders, free movement and a generous and humane refugee and immigration policy.”
• the world as opportunity»Sverige behöver också ett politiskt ledarskap som ser resten av världen som en möjlighet, inte som ett hot« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden also needs political leadership that sees the rest of the world as an opportunity, not as a threat”
• thrift with tax funds»Beskattning begränsar dock människors självbestämmande, därför bör skattemedel användas sparsamt« (party programme ↗)“Taxation limits people's self-determination, which is why tax funds should be used sparingly”

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 wants Swedish higher education to compete internationally and be characterized by high internationalization, wants foreign students to be able to seek work here after graduation and wants Sweden to attract the world's leading talent. To remove a fee that excludes non-European students moves in that direction. The plan does however say nothing about study fees as such, so the conclusion is uncertain.

• high internationalizationdecisive»högre utbildning ska konkurrera på den internationella utbildningsmarknaden och kännetecknas« (party programme ↗)“higher education shall compete on the international education market and be characterized”
• facilitate foreign students»Utländska studenter ska ha rätt att söka arbete i Sverige också efter fullföljd utbildning.« (party programme ↗)“Foreign students shall have the right to seek work in Sweden also after completed education.”
• attract international talent»Vi vill öka forskningsanslagen och både skapa bättre karriärvägar för yngre forskare och se riktade satsningar på att svenska universitet ska kunna locka hit världens främsta forskare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to increase research funding and both create better career paths for younger researchers and see targeted investments so that Swedish universities can attract the world's leading researchers.”
• education regardless of economic background»Studiemedelssystemet ska skapa förutsättningar för alla oavsett ekonomisk bakgrund att studera på« (party programme ↗)“The study finance system shall create conditions for everyone regardless of economic background to study at”

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 says that higher education shall be accessible to all with interest and prerequisites, without restricting this to Swedish students, and that global inequalities are unacceptable. That argues for fees not to exclude students from poorer countries. At the same time, the plan requires restraint in public spending, which makes the conclusion uncertain.

• accessible higher educationdecisive»Den högre utbildningen ska vara tillgänglig för alla« (party programme ↗)“Higher education shall be accessible to all”
• universal human value»De globala klyftorna är med denna utgångspunkt oacceptabla.« (party programme ↗)“Global inequalities are from this perspective unacceptable.”
• restrained public spending»återhållsamhet i de offentliga utgifterna« (party programme ↗)“restraint in public spending”

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 requires that all new reforms be financed or fit within the surplus target and points out the rule of law, defence and welfare as what must be prioritized. Abolishing study fees for non-European students is a new and significant expense that the plan does not make room for; its line for higher education is quality and competitiveness, not expanded subsidies. The plan therefore rejects the demand, even though it wants to safeguard foreign world-class expertise.

• financed reformsdecisive»Alla nya löften och reformer – som till exempel våra inkomstskattesänkningar – behöver finansieras eller rymmas inom överskottsmålet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All new promises and reforms – such as our income tax cuts – need to be financed or fit within the surplus target.”
• hard priorities»De stora behoven inom rättsväsendet, försvaret och välfärden ställer stora krav på prioriteringar under åren som kommer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The large needs within the rule of law, defence and welfare place major demands on priorities in the years to come.”
• quality guides higher education»Kvalitet och internationell konkurrenskraft ska vara styrande för den högre utbildningen.« (party programme ↗)“Quality and international competitiveness shall guide higher education.”
• safeguard foreign world-class expertise»Sätta stopp för kompetensutvisningarna« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop competence-based deportations”

The plan requires that Swedish citizens' interests are prioritized in economic policy, that the threshold for non-citizens to access tax-financed welfare is raised and that public spending is redirected to welfare and justice. Abolishing tuition fees and thus letting taxpayers finance non-European students' education goes in the opposite direction. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's requirement.

• raised threshold for welfaredecisive»Skärpa villkoren för medborgarskap och höja tröskeln för att ta del av skattefinansierad välfärd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sharpen the conditions for citizenship and raise the threshold for accessing tax-financed welfare”
• Swedish citizens first»Prioritera svenska medborgares intressen i den ekonomiska politiken« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prioritize Swedish citizens' interests in economic policy”
• reprioritize public spending»Se över offentliga utgifter och rikta om medel till välfärden och rättsväsendet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Review public expenditure and redirect funds to welfare and justice”
• protect welfare»Göra det svårare att exploatera den svenska välfärden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make it harder to exploit Swedish welfare”