'We're not going back to 2015': Swedish immigration minister
Sweden will keep a strict immigration policy in terms of accepting refugees, in order to be more sustainable over time, Anders Ygeman, Sweden's immigration minister, said at a press conference today.
"We're not going back to 2015, when Sweden took a disproportionately big responsibility," Ygeman said, adding that a number of municipalities in Sweden took greater responsibility for accepting refugees than others.
Sweden's migration system needs to be well-organised, so that refugees are able to apply for residence permits with temporary protection for a year, he added.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, nearly 26,000 Ukrainians have registered as refugees in Sweden, putting the number of new arrivals at around the the middle of the three scenarios presented earlier this month. Under the middle scenario, nearly 76 000 refugees will arrive in the first half of the year.
Ygeman said that Sweden has been pushing for a binding asylum and migration treaty in the EU since 2015.
The government has given Sweden's County Administrative Boards the job of preparing premises, facilities and land which can be used for temporary housing.
There is currently temporary housing available for 74,000 people, with places for 20,500 are available for use this week. Around 40 per-cent of the total is long-term housing, such as apartments, Ygeman said.
Mikael Damberg, Sweden's finance minister, told the press conference that the regional governments would be compensated under the existing system.
"The main expenses for regions and municipalities are covered by a system of standard compensation which is already covered under the asylum system", he said.
He said the government had allotted 9.8 billion kronor to the Migration Agency to ensure that it can provide housing and a maintenance payments to people who have temporary protection in Sweden.
The money also include compensation for municipalities and regions to schools, pre-schools and medical care, as well as compensation for accepting children without parents.
There will also be new legislation introduced, to enable the Migration Agency's ability to assign a municipality to sort housing for refugees. "The goal is for the new law to be active this summer", Ygeman said.
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"We're not going back to 2015, when Sweden took a disproportionately big responsibility," Ygeman said, adding that a number of municipalities in Sweden took greater responsibility for accepting refugees than others.
Sweden's migration system needs to be well-organised, so that refugees are able to apply for residence permits with temporary protection for a year, he added.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, nearly 26,000 Ukrainians have registered as refugees in Sweden, putting the number of new arrivals at around the the middle of the three scenarios presented earlier this month. Under the middle scenario, nearly 76 000 refugees will arrive in the first half of the year.
Ygeman said that Sweden has been pushing for a binding asylum and migration treaty in the EU since 2015.
The government has given Sweden's County Administrative Boards the job of preparing premises, facilities and land which can be used for temporary housing.
There is currently temporary housing available for 74,000 people, with places for 20,500 are available for use this week. Around 40 per-cent of the total is long-term housing, such as apartments, Ygeman said.
Mikael Damberg, Sweden's finance minister, told the press conference that the regional governments would be compensated under the existing system.
"The main expenses for regions and municipalities are covered by a system of standard compensation which is already covered under the asylum system", he said.
He said the government had allotted 9.8 billion kronor to the Migration Agency to ensure that it can provide housing and a maintenance payments to people who have temporary protection in Sweden.
The money also include compensation for municipalities and regions to schools, pre-schools and medical care, as well as compensation for accepting children without parents.
There will also be new legislation introduced, to enable the Migration Agency's ability to assign a municipality to sort housing for refugees. "The goal is for the new law to be active this summer", Ygeman said.
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