On Thursday, the politicians gather for an extra-convened summer parliament. On the agenda are several heavy decisions about Sweden's legal and migration policy. Here is a guide to some of the proposals to be voted on - and where the parties stand.
Lowered the age of criminal responsibility
In a bill from last spring, the government proposed that children over the age of 13 could be sentenced to prison for particularly serious crimes such as murder, aggravated rape and serious weapons offenses during a five-year period. The proposal was rejected by, among others, the Legislative Council, which argued that the bill goes against the Convention on the Rights of the Child and does not fulfill the purpose of reducing juvenile delinquency. In June, the government withdrew the proposal as the assessment was that it would fail in the Riksdag. Instead, a new bill was put forward – the one that will be voted on on Thursday – in which the age of criminal liability is lowered to 14 instead of 13 years. That's what the opposition, the Left Party, the Center Party and the Green Party say no to the proposal. The Social Democrats were against the original proposal, but are in favor of the government's new bill.
Tightened conditions for family immigration
The government proposes, among other things, that residence permits based on connections to a person in Sweden require that the connected person has had permission to stay in Sweden for at least two years. The subsistence requirements for family immigration are also tightened. This is what the opposition thinks All parties in the opposition have submitted several reservations to the proposals. Among other things, it is considered that two years is a disproportionately long time for families to be separated in different countries.
Abolished youth reduction
The youth reduction, also called the penalty discount, can today lead to lighter sentences for convicted criminals under the age of 21. According to the government's bill, the youth reduction is to be abolished completely for everyone who has reached legal age. The reduction for convicted children between the ages of 15 and 17 must also be greatly reduced, especially in the case of serious crime. This is what the opposition, the Left Party and the Green Party, say no to the proposal. According to the parties, current regulations need to be reviewed and evaluated further. The Social Democrats and the Center Party are in favor of the proposal.
Canceled quantity discount
The so-called quantity discount means that people who are sentenced for several crimes at the same time today are not sentenced to the total value of the penalty. The proposal to scrap the quantity discount would lead to people convicted of multiple crimes receiving longer prison terms. However, according to the Prison Service, there are not enough prison places until 2040 at the earliest, which has led to the government not having a proposed start date for the reform. This is what the opposition thinks All opposition parties say no to the proposal. Several of the parties' representatives justify it with the fact that the proposal has no start date and the prevailing shortage of places in Sweden's prisons. The Social Democrats have submitted their own proposal for scrapping the quantity discount, but initially only focused on sexual crimes.
