Questions on the European Union's budget

The plan generally opposes proposals that increase the EU's power, wants to return power to member states and opposes the centralization of economic policy in the EU, and establishes that municipalities should have their own taxation power. A marking that member states retain taxation power and that new EU taxes are rejected follows directly from this.

• against increased EU powerdecisive»I det dagliga arbetet motsätter sig Vänsterpartiet generellt förslag som ökar EU:s makt« (party programme ↗)“In the daily work, the Left Party generally opposes proposals that increase the EU's power”
• against centralized EU economics»motarbeta centraliseringen av den ekonomiska politiken i EU« (party programme ↗)“oppose the centralization of economic policy in the EU”
• power back to member states»tillbaka makt till medlemsländerna« (party programme ↗)“return power to member states”
• own taxation power»har en omfattande beslutskompetens och egen beskattningsrätt« (party programme ↗)“has extensive decision authority and its own taxation power”

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 plan wants to see the EU as cooperation between nation-states and rejects federal development, and it states that every shift in power should be determined by the member states. That argues for a statement that tax authority remains national and that additional EU taxes are opposed. The plan's demand for an EU that stands up for shared values also supports that rule-of-law requirements are followed up and applied.

• no to a federal EUdecisive»Vi vill att EU ska vara ett europeiskt samarbete mellan nationalstater och avvisar idéerna om att förvandla EU till en federal stat.« (party programme ↗)“We want the EU to be a European cooperation between nation-states and reject ideas of transforming the EU into a federal state.”
• the member states determine competence»Det är emellertid viktigt att varje sådan maktförskjutning bestäms av medlemsstaterna.« (party programme ↗)“However, it is important that each such shift in power is determined by the member states.”
• rule-of-law principles in the EU»Vi vill se ett EU som står upp för våra gemensamma värderingar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to see an EU that stands up for our shared values.”
• tax finances welfare»Skattesystemets viktigaste uppgift är att finansiera vår välfärd och nödvändiga framtidsinvesteringar.« (party programme ↗)“The tax system's most important task is to finance our welfare and necessary future investments.”

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 wants central control in the EU to decrease and individual countries' freedom to increase, criticizes that the EU budget is used inefficiently and for the wrong things and wants the sanctions system against violations of human rights within the union to be developed. A note about that taxing authority remains with member states and about effective implementation of rule-of-law requirements thus lies in the plan's direction, even though the plan welcomes EU-common minimum levels for environmental taxes.

• reduced central controldecisive»Centralstyrning ska minska och de enskilda« (party programme ↗)“Central control shall decrease and individual”
• criticism of the EU budget»EU-budgeten används ofta ineffektivt och till fel« (party programme ↗)“The EU budget is often used inefficiently and for the wrong”
• stricter rule-of-law requirements in the EU»sanktionssystemet behöver utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“the sanctions system needs to be developed.”
• national control of EU's powers»parlament ska ges reell möjlighet att kontrollera« (party programme ↗)“parliament shall be given real opportunity to control”

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 the union must refrain from interfering in countries' taxes and that central power must not grow at the expense of citizens' self-determination. It also wants the rule of law principles to stand strong. The counter-proposal's marking of retained national taxation rights, no to new EU taxes and effective implementation of rule-of-law requirements is therefore exactly the plan's line.

• national taxation rightsdecisive»Däremot måste unionen avhålla sig från att gripa in i t.ex. ländernas skatter« (party programme ↗)“However, the union must refrain from interfering in, for example, countries' taxes”
• democracy before bureaucracy»Unionens byråkrati får inte överskugga demokratin.« (party programme ↗)“The union's bureaucracy must not overshadow democracy.”
• rule-of-law principles»Våra demokratiska institutioner och principer — oberoende domstolar, äganderätten, den fria pressen, likheten inför lagen och många fler — ska stå starka oavsett politiskt styre.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions and principles—independent courts, property rights, the free press, equality before the law and many others—shall stand strong regardless of political control.”
• lower tax burden»Det totala skattetrycket måste ner nästa mandatperiod.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The total tax burden must fall during the next election term.”

The counter-proposal's core is that member states should retain taxation rights and further EU taxes should be opposed. The plan goes the opposite direction: it requires a European carbon tax and climate tariffs and wants economic policy instruments first and foremost coordinated at EU level, within the framework of a federal Europe. That the rule of law principle shall condition EU funding is, however, part of the plan and pulls in the counter-proposal's direction.

• European carbon taxdecisive»Det behövs en europeisk koldioxidskatt och klimattullar för att höja kostnaden för utsläpp, samtidigt som det europeiska klimatbiståndet ökar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There is a need for a European carbon tax and climate tariffs to increase the cost of emissions, while European climate aid increases.”
• tax coordination at EU level»samordnas på EU-nivå, till exempel genom minimiskatter.« (party programme ↗)“coordinated at EU level, for example through minimum taxes.”
• federal Europe»Vår vision är ett federalt Europa som står starkt och enat i de frågor där samarbete behövs« (party programme ↗)“Our vision is a federal Europe that stands strong and united on the issues where cooperation is needed”
• rule of law conditions for EU funding»Rättsstaten och respekten för de mänskliga rättigheterna behöver stärkas inom EU-länderna« (party programme ↗)“The rule of law and respect for human rights need to be strengthened within EU countries”

The counter-proposal wants to mark that member states retain tax sovereignty, oppose additional EU taxes and that the rule of law conditions for recovery fund resources are followed up. The party programme requires that the EU's tasks are delineated, that competence areas are clearly established and that each country itself chooses the form of its economic policy, while democracy and human rights are conditions for membership. The marking thus aligns with the plan.

• delineate the EU's tasksdecisive»En avgränsning av EU:s uppgifter är nödvändig för att« (party programme ↗)“A delineation of the EU's tasks is necessary in order to”
• national economic policy»Varje land har dock rätt att själv välja« (party programme ↗)“Each country however has the right to itself choose”
• the rule of law as condition»unionen är öppen för varje europeiskt land som delar grundläggande värden om demokrati och mänskliga rättigheter« (party programme ↗)“the union is open to every European country that shares fundamental values of democracy and human rights”
• clear competence boundaries»vilka EU:s kompetensområden är, och vilka de inte är.« (party programme ↗)“what the EU's competence areas are, and which they are not.”

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 the EU should neither do nor decide about everything, that decisions shall be made as close to citizens as possible and that the EU shall never develop at the expense of the member states - which directly argues for the right to tax remaining with the member states. That requirements of the rule of law's principles be applied effectively follows the plan's role as a strong voice for democracy and the rule of law. The requirement for such a marking is supported.

• limited EU competencedecisive»Moderaternas syn på EU speglar vår syn på statens uppgifter: EU ska varken göra eller fatta beslut om allt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderate Party's view of the EU reflects our view of the state's tasks: the EU shall neither do nor decide about everything.”
• member states' sovereignty»Men EU ska aldrig utvecklas på medlemsstaternas bekostnad.« (party programme ↗)“But the EU shall never develop at the expense of the member states.”
• subsidiarity»Beslut ska fattas på lägsta möjliga nivå, så nära medborgarna som möjligt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decisions shall be made at the lowest possible level, as close to citizens as possible.”
• rule of law and democracy»Sverige ska vara en stark röst för frihet, demokrati och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall be a strong voice for freedom, democracy and”

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 mark that member states retain tax rights, oppose further EU taxes and that rule-of-law requirements for recovery fund funds are applied effectively. The plan explicitly demands that power transfers and EU taxes are stopped and views new EU taxes and increased EU control over economic policy very negatively. Such a marking is therefore exactly what the plan demands.

• no EU taxesdecisive»Stoppa maktöverföringar och EU-skatter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop power transfers and EU taxes”
• national tax rights»Vi ser mycket negativt på flera planerade initiativ som ökar EU:s grepp över den ekonomiska politiken samt på förslag på införandet av nya EU-skatter och avskaffad vetorätt inom utrikespolitiken.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We view very negatively several planned initiatives that increase the EU's control over economic policy as well as proposals for introducing new EU taxes and abolishing the veto right in foreign policy.”
• lower EU fee»Kraftigt minska Sveriges EU-avgift« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Significantly reduce Sweden's EU fee”
• national self-determination»Stärka det nationella självbestämmandet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen national self-determination”

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.