Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
PM calls for 'permanent border controls', police lack evidence to seize rapper murder suspect, new Covid scenarios, Christmas train tickets, and more: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup.
Swedish PM calls for "permanent border control" with Denmark
Sweden's prime minister Ulf Kristersson has called for the temporary border controls on those entering Sweden over the Öresund Bridge from Denmark to be "made permanent", opening the way for a conflict with the European Union, with his Liberal Party coalition partners, and with regional and local politicians in Malmö.
In an interview with the Sydsvenskan newspaper, Kristersson said that he wanted to have permanent controls.
"They are going to be needed," he said. "Everyone wants to make commuting as easy as possible, but controls are also going to be needed. The more we reduce the problem of cross-border crime, the more open we can be to surrounding countries. But as it is now, we have big problems which need to be brought under control, both at the border and within Sweden."
Liberal leader Johan Pehrson said that he was sceptical of controls.
"Our future is in the Nordic region, not only when it comes to security, but also as a dynamic regional labour market," he said. "That's why I would like to work towards making sure the Nordic Region hangs together, both when it comes to security, historically, but also when it comes to the labour market. We will see where this proposal about permanent controls ends up. We will have a discussion about it."
Swedish vocab: gränsöverskridande brottslighet – cross-border crime
Police lack evidence to arrest man suspected of murdering Swedish rapper
Police in Stockholm believe they know who murdered the Swedish rapper Einar, which groups were behind his death, and why they did it. But they lack sufficient evidence to arrest or prosecute their main suspect.
One year after the rapper, whose real name was Nils Grönberg, was shot, police have a theory about the "group" who were behind the attack, and one person who is suspected of carrying out the shooting.
"We have carried out the customary investigations, as well as a forensic survey of the crime scene. We have made discoveries which have been analysed and have received 30 or more results from the National Forensic Centre," press spokesperson Mats Eriksson told the TT newswire. "The evidence against the suspect has not been strengthened and the prosecutor has not ordered anyone taken into pre-trial custody."
Swedish vocab: sedvanlig – customary
Covid-19 infection rate 'could grow in autumn and winter'
The Swedish Public Health Agency has warned that Sweden could see a rise in Covid-19 infections over the autumn and winter if new variants of the virus emerge which are better at immune resistance in the population.
The agency published three scenarios, one in which the BA.5 variant continues to be dominant, in which case it expects infection rates to decline, and two where new viruses take over. In one of the new scenarios, the variant is 30 percent more transmissible than BA.5 and in the other 50 percent more transmissible.
"As there's so much uncertainty around the spread of infection, the scenarios are very hard to predict," the agency's unit chief Lisa Brouwers said in a press release. "It comes down in particular to the properties of any new virus variants which emerge."
Swedish vocab: svåra att beräkna – hard to predict
Sweden's new government abolishes the new 'green travel rebate'
Sweden's new government has abolished a new system of tax breaks for those who travel to work, which would have been based on distance travelled rather than on whether you use a car, public transport or bicycle.
The new tax breaks, a key policy of Sweden's Green Party, were due to come into force next year.
The parties have also agreed to increase the rate for work trips by car from 18.5 kronor for every 10km to 25 kronor for 10km.
Swedish vocab: skatteavdrag – tax break
Sweden’s train companies start sales of Christmas tickets
MTRX train company has released its tickets for the Christmas period, and SJ's tickets will be available from November 9th. Vy, the Norwegian company running trains between Stockholm and the north of Sweden, has already released tickets for the festive period.
Christmas rail tickets are normally on sale from September, but most train companies, such as SJ and MTRX, have until recently only been able to provide bookings up until December 10th, due to delays in the Swedish Transport Administration’s train plan for 2023, which coordinates the times for all passenger and goods trains in Sweden.
Swedish vocab: tågplanen – the train plan
Sweden’s Snälltåget to offer night trains to Austria via Denmark
The Snälltåget service, running from Malmö in Sweden via Høje Taastrup, Odense and Kolding in Denmark, to Salzburg, Innsbruck and other ski resorts in the Austrian alps, will start on Thursday, December 22nd, 2022, running once a week until March 18th 2023.
Travellers wishing to take the night train from Sweden to Austria can depart from Malmö at 14:55 on Thursdays between December 22nd and March 18th, arriving in Salzburg the next morning at 09:12, with the train continuing through the Austrian alps to its final destination of Innsbruck.
Swedish vocab: skidorter – ski resorts
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Swedish PM calls for "permanent border control" with Denmark
Sweden's prime minister Ulf Kristersson has called for the temporary border controls on those entering Sweden over the Öresund Bridge from Denmark to be "made permanent", opening the way for a conflict with the European Union, with his Liberal Party coalition partners, and with regional and local politicians in Malmö.
In an interview with the Sydsvenskan newspaper, Kristersson said that he wanted to have permanent controls.
"They are going to be needed," he said. "Everyone wants to make commuting as easy as possible, but controls are also going to be needed. The more we reduce the problem of cross-border crime, the more open we can be to surrounding countries. But as it is now, we have big problems which need to be brought under control, both at the border and within Sweden."
Liberal leader Johan Pehrson said that he was sceptical of controls.
"Our future is in the Nordic region, not only when it comes to security, but also as a dynamic regional labour market," he said. "That's why I would like to work towards making sure the Nordic Region hangs together, both when it comes to security, historically, but also when it comes to the labour market. We will see where this proposal about permanent controls ends up. We will have a discussion about it."
Swedish vocab: gränsöverskridande brottslighet – cross-border crime
Police lack evidence to arrest man suspected of murdering Swedish rapper
Police in Stockholm believe they know who murdered the Swedish rapper Einar, which groups were behind his death, and why they did it. But they lack sufficient evidence to arrest or prosecute their main suspect.
One year after the rapper, whose real name was Nils Grönberg, was shot, police have a theory about the "group" who were behind the attack, and one person who is suspected of carrying out the shooting.
"We have carried out the customary investigations, as well as a forensic survey of the crime scene. We have made discoveries which have been analysed and have received 30 or more results from the National Forensic Centre," press spokesperson Mats Eriksson told the TT newswire. "The evidence against the suspect has not been strengthened and the prosecutor has not ordered anyone taken into pre-trial custody."
Swedish vocab: sedvanlig – customary
Covid-19 infection rate 'could grow in autumn and winter'
The Swedish Public Health Agency has warned that Sweden could see a rise in Covid-19 infections over the autumn and winter if new variants of the virus emerge which are better at immune resistance in the population.
The agency published three scenarios, one in which the BA.5 variant continues to be dominant, in which case it expects infection rates to decline, and two where new viruses take over. In one of the new scenarios, the variant is 30 percent more transmissible than BA.5 and in the other 50 percent more transmissible.
"As there's so much uncertainty around the spread of infection, the scenarios are very hard to predict," the agency's unit chief Lisa Brouwers said in a press release. "It comes down in particular to the properties of any new virus variants which emerge."
Swedish vocab: svåra att beräkna – hard to predict
Sweden's new government abolishes the new 'green travel rebate'
Sweden's new government has abolished a new system of tax breaks for those who travel to work, which would have been based on distance travelled rather than on whether you use a car, public transport or bicycle.
The new tax breaks, a key policy of Sweden's Green Party, were due to come into force next year.
The parties have also agreed to increase the rate for work trips by car from 18.5 kronor for every 10km to 25 kronor for 10km.
Swedish vocab: skatteavdrag – tax break
Sweden’s train companies start sales of Christmas tickets
MTRX train company has released its tickets for the Christmas period, and SJ's tickets will be available from November 9th. Vy, the Norwegian company running trains between Stockholm and the north of Sweden, has already released tickets for the festive period.
Christmas rail tickets are normally on sale from September, but most train companies, such as SJ and MTRX, have until recently only been able to provide bookings up until December 10th, due to delays in the Swedish Transport Administration’s train plan for 2023, which coordinates the times for all passenger and goods trains in Sweden.
Swedish vocab: tågplanen – the train plan
Sweden’s Snälltåget to offer night trains to Austria via Denmark
The Snälltåget service, running from Malmö in Sweden via Høje Taastrup, Odense and Kolding in Denmark, to Salzburg, Innsbruck and other ski resorts in the Austrian alps, will start on Thursday, December 22nd, 2022, running once a week until March 18th 2023.
Travellers wishing to take the night train from Sweden to Austria can depart from Malmö at 14:55 on Thursdays between December 22nd and March 18th, arriving in Salzburg the next morning at 09:12, with the train continuing through the Austrian alps to its final destination of Innsbruck.
Swedish vocab: skidorter – ski resorts
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