Sweden’s electricity price subsidy now postponed until February

Households and businesses will not receive any compensation for high power prices over the last year until February at the earliest, Swedish government ministers confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday morning, breaking a campaign promise to deliver the money “before Christmas”.

At the press conference, social insurance minister Anna Tenje said that payments would not begin until well into 2023. 

“The payments will begin in February if nothing unexpected happens,” she said. 

For businesses, the wait could be even longer. 

“The first step will be payments to households. The second stage will be payments to businesses, and that question is still being decided,” energy and business minister Ebba Busch said. 

Swedish vocab: högkostnadsskydd – high cost protection.  

Sweden takes delivery of much-debated Archer artillery system

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration has received a delivery of 48 Archer air defence systems, completing the country’s latest order from BAE Bofors, the company that builds them. 

The systems have been the subject of much political debate in Sweden this year, after Ulf Kristersson, then-leader of the Moderate Party opposition, called it “pathetic” and “weak” that Sweden had not sent any of the Archer systems to Ukraine. 

However, when the new Moderate-led government took a decision on a new package of military support for Ukraine, it too decided not to send Archer systems, something former defence minister Peter Hultqvist said “shows the danger of pushing this type of issue in campaign-like situations.”

Swedish vocab: ynklig – pathetic

Nato chief: Finland and Sverige have delivered

Nato is increasing the pressure on Turkey and Hungary to accept Sweden and Finland as new Nato members, with the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declaring at a summit in Bucharest that Sweden and Finland had delivered on the tripartite agreement signed in June. 

“Sweden has, for example, changed its constitution. Sweden has strengthened and tightened its laws against terrorism.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Finland’s foreign ministry tweeted that “progress under the trilateral memorandum has been made”. 

Swedish vocab: framsteg – progress 

Sweden’s PM only ready for new energy deal if Social Democrats back nuclear

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that he is only willing to negotiate a new cross-party energy deal if the Social Democrats are willing to give clear and unambiguous backing to new nuclear power stations. 

“We are demanding an unambiguous position that we will keep the nuclear power stations that we have and that we will build new nuclear power stations,” Kristersson told TT. “What it says in the Tidö Agreement stands, and that is what we are going to deliver.” 

The Tidö Agreement is the title of the coalition agreement between the Sweden Democrats and the government.

“If they want to change position on nuclear power,” he said, “then I would absolutely want to develop a very long-term policy platform on wind power, nuclear power, hydropower, and perhaps even hydrogen energy and such like — I’d love to — but this must be built on an unambiguous position so we don’t end up stuck in this slanging match.” 

Swedish vocab: vätgasenergi – hydrogen energy