Aid level

The election manifesto explicitly asserts that Sweden shall increase aid and strengthen the UN, which directly supports that one per cent of GNI be preserved as aid level. The programme moreover binds aid to being given without selfish conditions and requires that the North over a foreseeable time transfer resources to the South and East. To maintain a lower level contradicts the plan's demand for significantly reduced global inequality.

• increased aiddecisive»Sverige ska öka biståndet, stärka FN och skriva under kärnvapenkonventionen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall increase aid, strengthen the UN and sign the nuclear weapons convention.”
• reduced global inequality»I en rättvis värld måste den globala ojämlikheten kraftigt minskas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In a just world, global inequality must be significantly reduced.”
• aid without selfish conditions»Internationellt bistånd ska ges till fattiga länder utan egennyttiga förbehåll.« (party programme ↗)“International aid shall be given to poor countries without selfish conditions.”
• resource transfer from the North»Nord behöver dock under överskådlig tid föra över teknik och resurser till Syd och Öst« (party programme ↗)“The North needs however over a foreseeable time transfer technology and resources to the South and East”

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 explicitly states that Swedish aid shall correspond to at least one percent of gross national income, which is exactly what the counter-proposal wants to protect. The election manifesto strengthens the line by stating that poverty reduction shall continue, climate aid shall be doubled and aid shall prevent people from being forced to flee. The plan thus speaks directly against the committee's satisfaction with lower levels.

• one-percent target for aiddecisive»Det svenska biståndet ska motsvara minst en procent av bruttonationalinkomsten.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish aid shall correspond to at least one percent of gross national income.”
• increased climate aid»Därför vill vi dubblera klimatbiståndet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore we want to double climate aid.”
• continued poverty reduction»Arbetet för att minska fattigdomen måste fortsätta.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The work to reduce poverty must continue.”
• aid against causes of flight»Svenskt bistånd ska tydligare bidra till att förhindra att människor tvingas på flykt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish aid shall more clearly help prevent people from being forced to flee.”

Worldstate weighed in: Russia's war in Ukraine and growing humanitarian needs — strengthens the case for a high and stable aid level

The election manifesto requires that more than 1 per cent of gross national income continues to go to aid and the party programme that at least one per cent is allocated. The plan also establishes that no money shall be transferred from aid to refugee reception, which addresses the question of offsets. The counter-proposal's requirement to preserve the one-per-cent level is thereby the plan's own line.

• the one-per-cent goal for aiddecisive»att mer än 1 procent av Sveriges bruttonationalinkomst fortsatt ska gå till bistånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“that more than 1 per cent of Sweden's gross national income continues to go to aid”
• at least one per cent to aid»Därför är det rimligt att minst en procent av Sveriges bruttonationalinkomst, BNI, avsätts till internationellt bistånd.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore, it is reasonable that at least one per cent of Sweden's gross national income, GNI, is allocated to international aid.”
• no offsets for refugee costs»Därför ska inga pengar flyttas över från biståndet till flyktingmottagandet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore, no money shall be transferred from aid to refugee reception.”

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.

Neither the election manifesto nor the party programme specifies a level for aid. The closest underlying principle is the party programme's commitment that the world's rich countries must contribute to developing countries reaching sustainable development more quickly and that aid is a tool that brings countries closer together, which argues for a high and stable aid level being protected. The conclusion rests entirely on general principles and is therefore uncertain.

• rich countries' responsibilitydecisive»Världens rika länder måste bidra till att utvecklingsländer snabbare kan nå en hållbar utveckling.« (party programme ↗)“The world's rich countries must contribute to developing countries being able to reach sustainable development more quickly.”
• global shared responsibility»Fred, skyddet av mänskliga rättigheter och hållbar utveckling är hela världens ansvar.« (party programme ↗)“Peace, the protection of human rights and sustainable development are the responsibility of the whole world.”
• aid as a peace tool»Samarbetsorganisationer som FN och EU, handelsavtal och bistånd, kan knyta länder närmare varandra så att konflikter« (party programme ↗)“Cooperative organisations such as the UN and EU, trade agreements and aid, can bring countries closer together so that conflicts”

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.

Both the election manifesto and party programme establish that Swedish aid shall amount to one percent of GNI, which is exactly what the counter-proposal wants to safeguard. The plan justifies this with aid's role in an anxious world and with solidarity and responsibility for the world around us. The demand thus coincides with an explicit commitment in the plan.

• the one percent targetdecisive»det svenska biståndet ska uppnå till en procent av BNI« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish aid shall reach one percent of GNI”
• aid one percent of GNI»Det svenska biståndet ska uppgå till en procent av bruttonationalinkomsten.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish aid shall amount to one percent of gross national income.”
• aid in an anxious world»Biståndet spelar en viktig roll i en orolig värld.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Aid plays an important role in an anxious world.”
• generous and effective aid»Ett värderingsstyrt, generöst och effektivt bistånd handlar om solidaritet och ansvarstagande för vår omvärld.« (party programme ↗)“A value-driven, generous and effective aid is about solidarity and responsibility for our world around us.”

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 states that Sweden should give at least one per cent of GNI in international aid and that the aid level should remain fixed in both economic downturns and upturns. Humanitarian aid is highlighted as an important part, especially in disasters and conflicts. Safeguarding the one per cent target is therefore precisely what the plan requires.

• the one per cent targetdecisive»Sverige bör ge minst en procent av BNI i internationellt bistånd.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden should give at least one per cent of GNI in international aid.”
• stable aid level»en biståndsnivå som gäller såväl i låg- som högkonjunktur.« (party programme ↗)“an aid level that applies in both economic downturns and upturns.”
• humanitarian aid»Det humanitära biståndet är en viktig del av det internationella biståndet.« (party programme ↗)“Humanitarian aid is an important part of international aid.”
• international responsibility»INTERNATIONELLT ANSVARSTAGANDE« (2022 manifesto ↗)“INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY-TAKING”

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 is explicit: the one per cent target shall be abolished and replaced with a four-year budget framework, and the size of aid should be assessed against other needs and against achieved results instead of against a payment target. To value that one per cent of GNI is allocated to aid is precisely the payment target the plan wants to move away from.

• abolished one per cent targetdecisive»Avskaffa enprocentmålet och ersätta det med en fyraårig budgetram för biståndet som skapar förutsägbarhet och resultatfokus« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish the one per cent target and replace it with a four-year budget framework for aid that creates predictability and results focus”
• aid level weighed against other needs»Biståndets storlek ska bygga på en bedömning av vilken budget som är rimlig när biståndet ställs mot andra behov« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The size of aid should be based on an assessment of what budget is reasonable when aid is set against other needs”
• volume is not results»Men bistånd i sig driver inte samhällelig utveckling.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“But aid in itself does not drive social development.”

The election manifesto is unambiguous: international aid shall be dramatically reduced and funds redirected to Swedish welfare and security, and aid shall be valued by effect rather than by appropriation size. The counter-proposal's demand to protect an aid framework of 1 percent of GNI is the exact opposite. The party programme's wording about UN level weighs less than the election manifesto's message about dramatic reduction.

• reduced aiddecisive»Minska svenskt bistånd till förmån för svensk välfärd och trygghet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce Swedish aid in favor of Swedish welfare and security”
• dramatically reduced aid»Överlag måste det internationella biståndet kraftigt minska och insatserna effektiviseras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Overall, international aid must be dramatically reduced and efforts made more efficient.”
• effect before appropriation level»Biståndet ska som alla andra budgetposter värderas utifrån den effekt det får och inte hur mycket pengar som läggs på området.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Aid, like all other budget items, must be valued based on the effect it achieves and not how much money is spent on the area.”
• lower aid costs»Minska kostnaderna för migrationspolitik, bistånd, EU-bidrag och klimatåtgärder som kan göras mer effektiva« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce costs for migration policy, aid, EU contributions and climate measures that can be made more efficient”