The willingness of the Swedish governmental parties to support tendentious new EU asylum legislation may trigger domestic political instability. On April 20th, the Sweden Democrats (SD) threatened to withdraw support for the government if the current wording in the agreement is endorsed.
The European Parliament approved proposals for an EU relocation system for refugees last week despite opposition from conservative and nationalist MEPs. The parliamentary leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag, Mattias Karlsson, claimed that this is a red-line issue for his party.
The dispute is a significant test of the Sweden Democrats’ ability to challenge the legislative agenda of Stockholm at home and abroad.
The issue in question, the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact, enshrines a refugee relocation system into EU law. The proposal was heavily opposed by SD and other ECR parties because it centralises powers with Brussels rather than individual member states.
The Sweden Democrats have been in a ‘supply-and-confidence’ arrangement with a four-party coalition led by the centrist Moderate Party in the Swedish parliament (Riksdag). They are campaigning to drastically curtail the number of asylum seekers Sweden accepts.
The removal of their support would end the government’s working majority in the Swedish Parliament, on which it has relied to pass legislation.
MEP Charlie Weimers (SD) took a leading role in organising opposition to the Migration and Asylum Pact in the European Parliament. So far, the government is downplaying the disunity. Weimers has stated that the pact is tailored to suit the needs of Brussels rather than Sweden and would force member states to accept quotas of refugees against their will.
Critics of the pact say it undermines national sovereignty and is heavily weighted towards the Left and open-borders lobby, which heavily influenced the pact’s formation during the committee stage.
Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, had a significant role in writing the legislation. The Sweden Democrats have previously been accused of leveraging their position with the government to influence legislation. Responding to the threat by SD to pull support, the government reaffirmed its commitment to a common EU policy on asylum.
The Sweden Democrats have focused their criticism on moderate MEP Tomas Tobé, due to his hand in writing the legislation, and have reminded their government partners of the need to retain migration decision-making powers at a national level.
The pact is awaiting approval from the EU Council of Ministers and is expected to come into force in early 2024 upon final approval. Border security is increasingly the defining issue of the legislative calendar in Brussels with liberals and the left-wing frustrating any new border infrastructure.
Unlikely to trigger an election, the dispute is indicative of the Sweden Democrats’ willingness to hold Stockholm’s feet to the fire on asylum issues, and will have implications for populists across Europe.
