Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation

Sweden’s seventh international Office of Science and Innovation was established at the Embassy of Sweden in London on 1 January 2022. The Office will develop and strengthen collaboration between the UK and Sweden on issues linked to the Government’s life sciences strategy, its export and investment strategy, the Research and Innovation Bill, and the Government’s strategic partnership programmes.

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is being held in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November. The world’s countries are gathered there to negotiate global climate action under the Paris Agreement. They will negotiate on issues such as rules on emissions trading and how countries should report their emissions. The conference will also focus on how the countries’ climate commitments measure up to the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

The State is a significant company owner in Sweden. The portfolio of state-owned enterprises contains 46 fully and partially owned enterprises, of which two are listed. The State has a substantial responsibility to be an active and professional owner. The Government’s overall objective is for the enterprises to create value and, where applicable, to ensure that the specifically adopted public policy assignments are performed well.

Joint non-paper by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden (2021-04-28).

The Government on instructed the Swedish Tax Agency and Tillväxtverket (the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth) to make preparations so that as of 1 April 2022, the Tax Agency can be the managing authority for Tillväxtverket’s currently responsibilities under the Act on aid in the event of short-time work.

At a press conference on Monday, it was announced that a number of restrictions will be lifted as of 15 July. This is in line with step 3 of the Government’s plan for phasing out restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This compilation contains a selection of acts and ordinances – both new and amended – that enter into force in mid-2021.

At the Government’s initiative, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Ibrahim Baylan and Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs Anna Hallberg met with colleagues from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway on 9 June to discuss opportunities to strengthen and create synergies in Nordic vaccine production.

The Government has decided to extend the government credit guarantee scheme, ‘Företagsakuten’, to support small- and medium-sized companies in financial difficulty due to the pandemic from 30 June to 30 September 2021.

The Government has today decided to extend turnover-based support to sole traders and trading partnerships with at least one physical person as a partner to cover the period March–June 2021. This support is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

The government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party have agreed on supporting SAS to access liquidity equivalent to SEK 1.5 billion. This support from the Swedish State is subject to the European Commission’s approval of the measures and corresponding support from the Danish State.

The situation for the travel industry remains serious. Earlier in the pandemic, travellers sometimes accepted replacement holidays instead of a refund when package tours were cancelled due to the outbreak. Many of these replacement holidays are now also being cancelled. The Government is therefore working on a proposal that will give package tour operators the option of taking government loans to refund money to travellers. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

How many people work at the Government Offices? What was the central government budget like last year? How many acts and ordinances were issued last year? The answer to these and other questions can be found in the Swedish Government Offices Yearbook 2020.

In the spring amending budget, the Government announced that the central government rental support scheme would be extended through the second quarter of 2021. Following an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party, the Government now intends to examine the conditions for extending the scheme through the third quarter of 2021.

To help businesses overcome the consequences of the pandemic, the Government will propose extending the turnover-based support for sole traders and trading partnerships in which at least one partner is a natural person to cover July, August and September 2021. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

Hans Dahlgren, Minister for EU Affairs and Ibrahim Baylan, Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation, Dagens Industry, March 30 2021

The Government intends to introduce new financial support to organisers of events planned for period July–December 2021 that cannot be held or must be greatly limited due to the restrictions resulting from the spread of COVID-19. The proposal means that the State will cover part of the financial risk. The design of the support is currently being prepared at the Government Offices, and the Government intends to present the details at a later date. This is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

On 8 april the Government adopted an ordinance on rent rebates for certain vulnerable sectors for the period 1 January–31 March 2021. The adopted ordinance means that the rebate scheme enters into force and can be applied for as of 3 May. The decision follows directly from the approval of the rebate scheme by the European Commission last week and is based on an agreement between the governing parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

In January this year, the Government announced that the State aid to businesses that rent properties would be reintroduced for the first quarter of 2021. As a result of the increased community transmission and the negative economic impact on many businesses, the Government now also proposes that this rent rebate be extended for the period 1 April–30 June 2021. The Government’s proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.