prop · GX0334en · 2009-10-21 00:00:00 — market package for electricity and natural gas in the EU. the Government appointed an inquiry (ToR 2009:21) that will propose amendments adjusting the Swedish legislation and other regulations to the revised electricity and gas directives, to Parliament and Council regulations on the access rules for cross-border exchanges in electricity and gas and to the proposed regulation on the of an agency for the cooperation of energy regulators. The inquiry report will be presented no later than 1 2010. In an important step in promoting an efficient, borderless and sustainable Nordic electricity market with fair competition and efficient exchanges with the neighbouring countries, the Nordic energy ministers decided in on a Nordic roadmap focusing on further harmonisation and integration of the electricity market. Financial market measures to counter the economic crisis When the financial crisis spread across the worlds economies, the functioning of the financial system deteriorated considerably. To mitigate the impact on economy, the Government decided at an early stage to take a number of stabilising measures to restore confidence in the financial system. In October 2008, the Government presented a comprehensive stability plan containing both immediate measures and extensive support legislation (2008:814). The Act on State Aid for enables the Government to provide various forms of support to credit institutions on short notice in order to avoid a serious disruption in the financial system. Debt Office was made the Governments aid agency with responsibility for implementing the measures decided. The Financial Supervisory Authority was given a special task of checking regularly that households and businesses also benefit from the aid measures. As a first measure, the deposit guarantee was increased (Govt. 2008/09:49, Report 2008/09:FiU14, 2008/09:16) in order to strengthen the confidence of depositors and maintain stable deposits. The guarantee covers deposits in all kinds of accounts except for individual pension schemes (IPS). To facilitate the financing of solvent institutions and strengthen stability in the financial markets, the Government introduced a guarantee programme for medium-term borrowing. It aims at making it easier for banks to get financing with various maturities and thus makes households and enterprises better able to borrow on reasonable terms. The amount of the programme is 500 billion and it will be in effect until . By 15 2009, eight credit institutions had joined the programme. At that time, the total amount guaranteed was billion. The programme is deemed to have had a stabilising impact on the financial markets and thus has been beneficial for all actors. For example, the volume of bond issues increased in the spring, even for institutions outside the programme. In times of uncertainty, it may be difficult to attract new equity, while the banks need for doing so increases. Therefore, the Government decided in February 2009 to launch a recapitalisation scheme directed at solvent banks and other credit institutions deemed to be important to The purpose of this measure was to avoid a credit crunch by increasing the banks' ability to provide households and businesses with loans on reasonable terms. The maximum amount of the recapitalisation scheme is billion and it will be in effect until 17 February 2010. So far, a total of billion has been used under the scheme. It is the Governments assessment that the scheme has stabilised the market and contributed to an improved financing situation for banks in the last six months. The reason that so few institutions have applied for capital injections is probably that the scheme was designed to stimulate market solutions. The Act on State Aid for also makes it possible for the State to act should a financial institution experience problems that are large enough to pose a risk of a serious disruption in the financial system. There is a broad mandate to take the measures required by the situation, even if the institutions in question would not have applied for support. Regardless of how the support measures are designed, it is primarily the owners and those who have supplied risk capital who should cover any losses. A stability fund was established for financing the crisis measures. On 8 October 2009, the Government decided on a Stability Fee (Govt. 2009/10:30) introducing a stability fee. Under the proposal, banks and other credit institutions are to pay a fee to finance the , which will be used to deal with financial crises. Thus a financing system that is sustainable in the long run has been created outside the central government budget. A competitive and sustainable business sector The purpose of the move towards an eco-efficient economy is to discuss how and Europe can increase their competitiveness while meeting the current challenges and common objectives in the areas of climate and energy. Good examples showing profitability and competitive advantages in reducing the impact on the environment in all types of businesses are highlighted. In the to Research and Development (Ett lyft för forskning och innovation, Govt. 2008/09:50) major initiatives in climate-related and technical research were presented. In addition, the Government in 2009 took measures in the area of environmental technology, such as export promotion, analysis and the development of expertise. In the Climate and Energy Policy Energy (En sammanhållen klimat- och energipolitik Energi, Govt. 2008/09:163), measures to strengthen the market introduction of energy efficient technology and to promote energy services were presented. conducts an climate policy both at and global levels. An effective implementation of competition legislation Authority has continued to fight collusive behaviour, and in 2009 most important cartel case was concluded in the Market Court. Six out of ten asphalt companies were sentenced to pay almost million in financial penalties. Authority has scrutinised collusion within trade organisations and has found that every third trade organisation is engaged in activities that may be in conflict with the competition rules. Examples of such activities are price recommendations to member companies or collection and distribution of information about prices, sales and costs. Authority has intensified its supervision of the procurement rules and has placed particular emphasis on drawing attention to prohibited direct procurements, for example municipal procurement of waste services, where the Authority has established that almost every third municipal waste contract was procured without any competition. Furthermore, the Competition Authority has examined incorrect procurement in a number of cases. In some of these cases, the procurers have even defied court orders. with more players and greater freedom of choice It is the Governments view that it is important to solve the problems which arise when public actors engage in commercial activities that distort competition in the market and displace business activities in the private sector. To create the conditions for more small businesses to grow and to conduct business, the Government in 2009 presented the bill Conflict Resolution in Activities in the Market, etc. (Konfliktlösning vid offentlig säljverksamhet på marknaden m.m.) (Govt. 2008/09:231) with proposals to supplement the Competition Act with rules that prohibit the State, municipalities or county councils in their commercial activities from following a particular practice if it distorts the conditions for effective competition. A municipality or county council may also be prohibited from conducting activities not compatible with the Local Government Act. It is proposed that the new provisions come into effect on 1 January 2010. The Act on Systems for Freedom of Choice (LOV) (2009:962) came into force on 1 January 2009. LOV regulates what applies to those local governments that want to introduce freedom of choice and competition test services by delegating the choice of provider of elderly care, support for people with disabilities and health and care services to the user or the patient. Both private companies and NGOs can apply for approval as providers. The law is based on the lack of price competition between suppliers. An individual is instead given the opportunity to choose the provider that she or he perceives provides the best quality. On , the Government decided on a proposal that had been referred to under which beginning , the will be obliged to offer some newly arrived immigrants freedom of choice systems with pilots. Under the proposal, the will thus also apply LOV. The aim of the proposal is to facilitate and speed up the of newly arrived immigrants in working and community life (see also Section 4.2). The proposal is in line with the Commission and Council's 'points to watch' on increasing the labour market participation of people with a foreign background. On 1 January 2010, changes in the Health and Act (1982:763) will come into force, whereby county councils will be obliged to introduce a system for choosing a health care provider that gives the public the opportunity to choose between different primary care providers. Systems like this can now be found in some counties. The new system for choosing a primary care provider will make the rules for choosing a primary care provider more uniform than they are today. Companies and organisations will have better opportunities to establish a primary care practice and patients will have more health care providers to choose between. All health care providers who meet the requirements decided by the county councils will have the right to establish a primary care practice with public compensation. The basis for the compensation system will be that the money follows the patient's choice and that private and public health care providers are to be treated equally. The effects of the system for the choice of health care provider on competition will be carefully evaluated and the Competition Authority has therefore had a remit in 2009 and 2010 to monitor the introduction from the point of view of competition to ensure that public and private health care providers can compete on equal terms. On 1 2009, new legislation re-regulating the pharmacy market came into force. The aim of the re-regulation is to make pharmaceutical products more accessible to consumers and provide them with better service and more selection. 's monopoly has been replaced by a system whereby those who obtain a permit from the may operate a pharmacy. State ownership of will be gradually reduced by selling off parts of it. The equivalent of 150 pharmacies will be transferred to a new state-owned company and will be able to have private entrepreneurs as co-owners. A special restructuring company will ensure that the restructuring of will be transparent, competitively neutral and independent and that there will be a market valuation before any pharmacies are sold. At the request of the Government, the Authority will follow and analyse developments in the pharmaceuticals market during the reregulation period. It is to present a final report of its findings on . On , new legislation will come into effect permitting retail trade in some non-prescription medicines in places that are not outpatient pharmacies. The regulations in principle mean that a large proportion of the non-prescription medicines most in demand will be made available in other retail outlets. On 16 2009, 's exclusive right to operate railway passenger traffic was cancelled for commercial reasons. This is the beginning of a process to open the railway passenger market to competition. Beginning 1 2009, this market was opened for on weekends and on 1 October 2009, the entire Swedish railway network for international passenger traffic with the right to cabotage was opened. This means that a company that principally provides international traffic is allowed to take on and let off passengers not crossing a national border. 1 October 2010, the market for passenger traffic on railways will be completely liberalised. In addition, the Government intends in autumn to come back to the Riksdag with proposals that may open the motor vehicle inspection market to competition beginning 1 2010. Authority has observed that co-ownership of nuclear power plants has disadvantages from the point of view of competition, since the three large electricity companies together own and control all nuclear power plants in . Co-ownership should therefore cease. The Government is of the opinion that a well-functioning electricity market strengthens Swedish competitiveness and is of great importance to prices of electric power both for businesses and households. The Government has therefore appointed two negotiators who have the task of presenting proposals no later than for a settlement on co-ownership of nuclear power stations. On 1 2008, the new district heating law entered into force. An inquiry chair will analyse the potential for a statutory third party access to the district heating network, thus creating the conditions for competition in the district heating market. If deemed appropriate, the inquiry will also present a proposal for a regulatory framework for third party access. The aim is to further strengthen the position of district heating and bring about lower district heating prices, a more efficient heating market and a better environment. Competition policy takes a broad approach based on taking every opportunity to consider measures to improve competition in all parts of the economy. Even though has a strong economy and from an international perspective, a deregulated and competitive business sector, compared with other countries, price levels in are high in many areas. The Commission and Council pointed out these high price levels as a 'point to watch' for . One of the main reasons for this is a lack of competition, which also means there is a risk of price increases becoming more marked and long lasting. The Government therefore sees a need for measures that improve competition in a number of areas and has for this reason given the Competition Authority the task of presenting concrete proposals ranked according to priority on measures to improve competition. On 31 2009, the Competition Authority presented final reports on 59 measures for better competition in that span large parts of the economy. Taking a comprehensive approach to competition issues is necessary to improve the possibilities of pushing through reforms that yield clear and long-lasting results for the whole economy. Work is under way to put the Competition Authority's proposed measures into practice in the best way. In spring the Government intends to present the measures taken to improve competition of importance for the economy. with improved public procurement In a future bill, the Government intends to implement the EC's revised Remedies Directive (2007/66/EC) in Swedish law (the proposal is described more fully in New Remedies in the Public Procurement Area (Ds 2009:30)). The aim of the proposal is to rectify the situation in which a contracting authority signs a public procurement contract in order to end the possibility of review. The proposal also deals with the problem of a lack of effective remedies for unlawful direct award without prior contract notice. The introduction of a market damage fee for unlawful direct procurement will be proposed and the Authority is being given the right to make motions in court on market damage fees. According to the proposal, the amendments should enter into force on 1 2010. The proposals also contain administrative simplification proposals for procurement both above and below the threshold values in the EC directives. Regional competitiveness and enhanced rural development capacity National economic growth is based on competitive regions and is the sum of their growth. The national strategy for regional competitiveness, entrepreneurship and employment 20072013 is comprised of the national strategic reference framework (NSRF) for the regional development work. The Government points out the following priorities in the strategy: innovation and renewal, skills provision and improved labour supply, accessibility, and strategic cross-border cooperation. These priorities guide the work on regional growth and the regional and national programmes. For example, the transition to a more sustainable energy system is seen as an opportunity to strengthen regional growth by using the transition as an incentive for the development of technology, products and services. The Governments recent decision on an action plan for cultural and creative industries is also important for regional growth. In 2009 a strategic follow-up of the strategy has been conducted to highlight the Government and the regions work on competitiveness and growth. The follow-up is also a review of the strategy in accordance with guidelines from the Commission and will be submitted in . In their dialogues with the Government Offices, regional actors have emphasised the need for better national and regional coordination of labour market policy, education policy and regional growth policy. Safeguarding regional skills provision and labour supply has become even more important in connection with the current economic downturn. Funding for regional project activities has been granted at the regional level by county administrative boards, coordination bodies and regional autonomous bodies. The projects in the regional growth policy are run in accordance with the regional development programmes, the regional growth programmes and the regional programmes for competitiveness and employment. The total volume of funds allocated to regional project activities in 2008 amounted to 025 million. Out of this funding, 39 per cent (about billion) comes from the central government, 36 per cent (about billion) from the EU and 9 per cent (about million) from private sources. About billion has been allocated to the development of entrepreneurship and innovative environments, million to regional enlargement and an expanded information society, million to cross-border cooperation and million to skills provision and an increased labour supply. In 2009 the Government decided on the 2008/09:167 A Strategy for Strengthening the Ability to Develop in Rural Areas (En strategi för att stärka utvecklingskraften i aim is for the rural perspective to be included in all policy areas where it is relevant. Transforming the resources of the rural areas into sustainable growth and employment, however, requires more extensive measures in many policy areas. Thus, the Governments focus is to do better at introducing the rural perspective as a natural part of all policy areas, where it is relevant, and to create value added through cooperation between the various areas. The measures included in the strategy mean developing certain industries, such as the mining and extraction industry, tourism, and cultural and creative industries, increased use of renewable energy also linked to entrepreneurship and employment in rural areas, an inquiry into the future labour supply in rural areas, continued broadband expansion, promotion of commercial and public services and promotion of entrepreneurship by general is an important instrument in this work. Programme funds amount to more than billion, of which about billion are allocated to measures to diversify the economy and improve the quality of life in Among the programmes national priorities is a clear focus on concrete measures to promote entrepreneurship, growth and employment in rural areas and to strengthen the competitiveness of agriculture and other rural enterprises, economic sustainability and contributions to the transition to a sustainable society and use of As part of Economic Recovery Plan, the decided in 2009 to reinforce the rural programmes. is now working to implement this reinforcement, which will mean that more than million will be used for broadband in rural areas; see also Section 3.2. The ongoing regional work on a changeover to alternative energy sources, which is done in cooperation with other regional programmes, strengthens the work for sustainable regional In the 2010 Budget , the Government proposes to allocate more funds in 20102014 to the energy related change-over work at the regional level, for example by allocating funds to the county councils' work on further developing regional climate and energy strategies and increasing support for regional cooperative projects on efficient energy These initiatives are part of the five-year energy efficiency programme announced by the Government in the Climate and Energy Policy Energy) (GovtBill 2008/09:163) (see Cooperation between the energy strategy and the regional plans and programmes strengthens the work for sustainable regional In view of the economic downturn in , the Government between January 2008 and February 2009 appointed regional dismissal notice coordinators in order to meet the needs that may arise and ensure Their task is to coordinate actors, available resources and initiatives locally and regionally. The work on dismissal notices demonstrates the importance of functioning regional partnerships and regionally based long-term strategies as a basis for rapid decisions on measures in a crisis situation. The work has furthered cooperation and led to increased coordination and more efficient use of local and regional resources. than 200 proposals have been submitted in various policy areas. About a third of the proposals have been accepted and implemented by the Government, a third are being given further consideration and a third of the proposals have not been deemed relevant in the current situation. Among the proposals accepted by the Government are increased lending to SMEs, increased export financing through the , initiatives for the vehicle industry by way of an R&D corporation, possibilities for state credit guarantees for loans from and rescue loans for companies in financial difficulty. Measures in other areas are, for example, tax deductions for repairs and maintenance, infrastructure measures, new start jobs, tax deferrals for employers, skills development and work experience, support for the local government sector to protect the welfare systems and initiatives for matching and coaching jobseekers at the employment offices. The Governments support for banks has been particularly important for ensuring the functioning of the financial system. 3.4Environment and climate policy for sustainable growth To encourage the sustainable use of resources and strengthen the synergies between environmental protection and growth In Economic Recovery Plan, the Commission pointed to the possibility of restructuring the economy and going green. The Government is convinced that the climate challenges can be turned into an opportunity for . The concept of an eco-efficient economy that reconciles business policy with climate and energy challenges is a valuable concept to apply in and the EU. Financial policy instruments such as emissions trading and taxes are important tools in breaking the link between economic growth and increased greenhouse gas emissions. has implemented measures dealing with increased energy efficiency in and environmentally friendly innovations such as second generation biofuels. is currently also taking measures in many other areas such as sewage treatment and conservation of biodiversity. In 2007, total greenhouse gas emissions in came to 65.4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, which was 9.1 per cent lower than in From 19902007, GDP increased by about 48 per cent. Total greenhouse gas emissions have thus deviated considerably from economic growth.