Previous celebrations of the Swedish government taking the deportation of criminal migrants seriously may have been premature, with officials now being criticised for not putting their name to a joint letter demanding that the interpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights be revised.
Nine countries, led by Italy and Denmark, last week said the seven-decade-old convention does not “match the challenges that we face today” and is making it unduly difficult to remove foreign criminals, as has been well documented in Britain and elsewhere.
Ministers in Stockholm did not add themselves to this list, despite appearing in recent months to take a tougher stance on illegal migration and, indeed, despite the Tidö Agreement which is supposed to give the migration-critical Sweden Democrats (SD) influence over government actions.
SD Riksdag member Ludvig Aspling said his party “did not participate in the decision and can only regret the government’s weakness.”
The difference between the Moderates and SD could not be clearer.
Sverige undertecknade inte brevet om en justering av Europakonventionen för att stoppa det missbruk av reglerna som hindrar oss från att utvisa grovt kriminella. Vi deltog inte i beslutet och kan bara beklaga regeringens svaghet. Skillnaden mellan M och SD kan inte bli tydligare. pic.twitter.com/3mCGUcUW4G
His colleague Richard Jomshof agreed that it was “incredibly weak of the government not to sign the letter, adding: “You can almost get the impression that they don’t want to fundamentally reform immigration policy. Is it all just a game for the gallery?”
SD MP Josef Fransson even suggested the government’s refusal to challenge the current pro-migration powers of the ECHR could be “suitable to package as an election issue in 2026,” saying he was “fairly confident about what the Swedish people would have wanted.”
Alain Berset, who is Secretary General of the European Court of Human Rights, has responded to the joint letter, insisting that the institution “must not be weaponised—neither against governments, nor by them.” But the leaders of the nine nations involved look as though they are not ready to give up just yet.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
