General matters regarding regulatory simplification for businesses

The plan goes in the opposite direction from the counter-proposal's demands: it wants regulations that ensure serious working environment work at all workplaces, sharp environmental legislation and greater societal oversight of companies. That as a main rule EU rules be implemented at minimum level and requirements adapted after company size would lower precisely the protection levels the plan wants to raise. The plan does admittedly see good conditions for sound companies positively, but justifies it with protection against wage dumping and fraud, not with lower requirement levels.

• regulations that ensure seriousnessdecisive»Det behövs regelverk och strukturer som säkrar ett seriöst« (party programme ↗)“Regulations and structures are needed to ensure serious”
• sharp environmental legislation»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental targets that are followed up with sharp legislation and practical work.”
• wage dumping as a central threat»Lönedumpning, ekonomisk brottslighet och utnyttjande är centrala hot idag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Wage dumping, economic crime and exploitation are central threats today.”
• increased oversight of companies»Vi vill gå mot en större samhällelig insyn« (party programme ↗)“We want to move towards greater societal oversight”

The plan sees the EU as a platform for sharpening protection of environment, consumers and employees and demands strong labour law legislation. The counter-proposal's main rule about implementing new EU regulations at minimum level therefore goes against the plan's line, even though the plan wants to improve conditions for business and especially for small business. That trade-off determines the decision against the counter-proposal's demand.

• strengthened EU protection for employeesdecisive»plattform för att på europeisk nivå skärpa skyddet av miljö, konsumenter och löntagare« (party programme ↗)“platform for sharpening protection of environment, consumers and employees at European level”
• strong labour law»Stark arbetsrättslig lagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“Strong labour law legislation.”
• better conditions for business»Stärk de långsiktiga förutsättningarna för företagande och innovation.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the long-term conditions for business and innovation.”
• security for small business»Trygghet för småföretagare.« (party programme ↗)“Security for small business.”

The decisive factor in the counter-proposal is that EU rules as a general rule shall be implemented at minimum level. The plan by contrast says that individual member states shall be able to go further than EU standards and that Sweden shall be a leader that goes ahead in its own climate and environmental work, with clear legislation against environmental damage and effective oversight. The plan certainly wants it to be easy to do business, but that does not outweigh a general minimum level principle.

• member states shall be able to go furtherdecisive»gälla inom hela unionen, och enskilda medlemsländer ska kunna gå längre.« (party programme ↗)“apply throughout the union, and individual member states shall be able to go further.”
• Sweden shall go ahead»Som föregångsland i klimatarbetet kan Sverige spela en« (party programme ↗)“As a leader in climate work Sweden can play a”
• strong environmental legislation and oversight»behövs en tydlig lagstiftning mot miljöförstöring och en effektiv tillsyn av att lagarna« (party programme ↗)“clear legislation against environmental damage and effective oversight of the laws are needed”
• easy to do business»vara enkelt att starta företag, växa och anställa sina första medarbetare.« (party programme ↗)“be easy to start a business, grow and hire your first employees.”

The election manifesto makes regulatory simplification for small businesses a main priority and explicitly promises to clear away regulatory red tape. The counter-proposal's requirements to sort out rules that no longer serve their purpose, strengthen scrutiny of impact assessments and adapt regulations to small business conditions are precisely that line. The requirement for a minimum level when implementing EU rules points in the same direction as the promise of less regulatory red tape.

• reduced regulatory red tape for businessdecisive»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clear away regulatory red tape for entrepreneurs, large and small.”
• small business conditions prioritised»Vi ska skapa bättre förutsättningar för dem att lyckas, med lägre skatt, mindre regelkrångel och en starkare arbetslinje.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We shall create better conditions for them to succeed, with lower taxes, less regulatory red tape and a stronger work ethic.”
• regulatory burden hampers growth»Dyra, krångliga och innovationshämmande regelverk ligger som en våt filt över delar av landsbygden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Expensive, complicated and innovation-inhibiting regulations lie like a wet blanket over parts of rural Sweden.”
• good conditions for small business»Goda villkor för entreprenörer, egenföretagare och små företag är därför avgörande för att skapa nya jobb.« (party programme ↗)“Good conditions for entrepreneurs, self-employed and small businesses are therefore crucial for creating new jobs.”

The plan explicitly commits to reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses and to analyzing public decisions from a small-business perspective, which is the core of the counter-proposal's demand for elimination of outdated rules, stronger scrutiny of regulatory impact assessments, and regulations adapted to small businesses. Tax rules should moreover be easy to understand. The requirement for EU rules at a minimum level aligns less well with the plan's will to harmonize regulations, but it weighs less than the simplification commitment.

• reduced regulatory burdendecisive»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska« (party programme ↗)“The regulatory burden on small businesses shall decrease”
• small-business perspective in decisions»offentliga beslut analyseras ur småföretagarperspektiv« (party programme ↗)“public decisions are analyzed from a small-business perspective”
• simple and comprehensible rules»Sveriges skattenivåer ska vara konkurrenskraftiga och lättförståeliga för att uppmuntra till företagande, utbildning och investeringar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden's tax levels shall be competitive and easy to understand in order to encourage entrepreneurship, education and investment.”
• harmonized EU regulations»harmoniseras och reformtakten för konkurrenskraft och produktivitet vara hög.« (party programme ↗)“are harmonized and the pace of reform for competitiveness and productivity is high.”

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 requires that forthcoming laws be tested from a small business perspective and that economic policy be conducted with general means that do not disadvantage small and medium-sized businesses. The counter-proposal's requirement for clearing out outdated rules, a strengthened Regulatory Council and regulations adapted to small businesses' conditions is the same commitment put into action. The plan also requires long-term and predictable rules for businesses.

• small business perspective on new lawsdecisive»Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett« (party programme ↗)“Forthcoming laws should be tested from”
• rules must not disadvantage small businesses»olika företagsformer och företagande i alla delar av landet och inte missgynnar små och« (party programme ↗)“different business forms and enterprise in all parts of the country and does not disadvantage small and”
• long-term rules»Det är viktigt att de regler staten ställer upp för företagen är långsiktiga.« (party programme ↗)“It is important that the rules the state sets up for businesses are long-term.”
• general economic policy»Näringspolitiken ska bedrivas med generella medel« (party programme ↗)“Economic policy shall be conducted with general means”

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 election manifesto explicitly promises to reduce regulatory red tape and counteract over-implementation of EU decisions, with the main rule that EU directives are implemented at minimum level — exactly what the counter-proposal demands. The plan also sets a quantified target to remove one third of businesses' administrative costs and regulatory red tape. A more forceful and coherent simplification effort adapted to businesses' conditions follows directly from these commitments.

• EU-direktiv på miniminivådecisive»Minska regelkrånglet och onödig byråkrati, bland annat genom att motverka överimplementering i Sverige av EU-beslut – som huvudregel ska EU-direktiv genomföras på miniminivå« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce regulatory red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, inter alia by counteracting over-implementation in Sweden of EU decisions - as a rule EU directives shall be implemented at minimum level”
• en tredjedel mindre regelkrångel»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one third of businesses' administrative costs and one third of regulatory red tape”
• regelkrångel hämmar tillväxt»Men höga skatter, krångliga tillståndsprocesser och byråkrati sätter käppar i hjulet för innovation och tillväxt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“But high taxes, complicated licensing processes and bureaucracy put obstacles in the way of innovation and growth.”
• bortre tidsgräns»Korta myndigheternas handläggningstider genom en bortre tidsgräns« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce government agency processing times through time limits”

flags: citat_migrerat

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 explicitly commits to working for regulatory simplification and reducing small businesses' administrative burden and to removing unnecessary rules where the cost to businesses does not match social benefit. It also notes that regulatory burden despite many years of ambition has remained or increased, which speaks for more vigorous and coherent work. The counter-proposal's demands for removal of outdated rules, minimal transposition of EU rules and adaptation to small businesses' conditions follow directly from these commitments.

• regulatory simplification for small businessdecisive»Verka för regelförenkling och avlasta småföretagens administrativa börda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for regulatory simplification and reduce small businesses' administrative burden”
• remove unnecessary rules»För att få fler och växande företag är det viktigt att ta bort onödiga regler där kostnaderna för företagen inte motsvarar nyttan för samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To get more and growing businesses it is important to remove unnecessary rules where the costs to businesses do not match society's benefit.”
• regulatory burden has not decreased»Trots mångåriga ambitioner om att minska regelkrångel visar undersökningar att bördan över tid kvarstått på höga nivåer eller ökat.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Despite many years of efforts to reduce regulatory red tape, research shows that the burden over time has remained at high levels or increased.”
• adaptation to smaller players»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 players to break into the market.”

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.