EU–US tariff talks at ‘critical phase’, a new national security adviser, and other news from Sweden on Friday.
EU–US tariff talks at ‘critical phase’, a new national security adviser, and other news from Sweden on Friday.
EU–US tariff talks at ‘critical phase’, a new national security adviser, and other news from Sweden on Friday.
Niclas Kvarnström named Sweden’s New national security adviser
Sweden has appointed Niclas Kvarnström as its new national security adviser, the third person to hold the role in less than a year. The appointment was confirmed in a press release on Thursday.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed Kvarnström as a “distinguished diplomat with extensive experience”. Kvarnström previously served as ambassador to Singapore and has held senior roles within the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs over the past decade. He most recently held a leadership position at the EU’s diplomatic service and is currently on leave from the foreign ministry.
He replaces Tobias Thyberg, who resigned in May after naked photos of him were circulated taken from the Grindr gay hook-up site. Thyberg had only recently taken over from Henrik Landerholm, who resigned after a serious of security scandals, including one where he forgot classified documents at a conference hotel. Kvarnström officially assumes the role on Monday, according to Dagens Nyheter, which first reported the appointment.
Swedish vocabulary: framstående – distinguished
Migration Minister refuses to comment on son’s far-right links
Sweden’s migration minister, Johan Forssell, refused to answer further questions about his son’s ties to far-right groups, after they were revealed this summer by the anti-extremism magazine Expo.
“I have nothing to add,” he repeated when asked by TT whether he knew when his son’s extremist activity had ended. “I have answered these questions.”
In an interview with TV4, Forssell confirmed that his son had been involved with far-right groups but said those connections had ceased.
Swedish vocabulary: att tillägga – to add
Man stabbed and injured in Sollefteå
A man in Sollefteå is being treated in hospital for life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly stabbed repeatedly with a sharp object on Thursday night.
Police were called to a private residence at 9pm and have arrested a second man on suspicion of attempted murder. According to Tidningen Ångermanland and P4 Västernorrland, the two men are believed to know each other.
Swedish vocabulary: livshotande skador – life-threatening injuries
Swedish trade minister says EU–US talks on tariffs at ‘critical phase’
Sweden’s trade minister Benjamin Dousa has described negotiations over retaliatory EU tariffs on US imports as at a “critical stage,” with the bloc preparing a €72 billion response package, which on top of earlier measures will bring the total to €93 billion.
At a press briefing, Dousa said Sweden supported the EU’s stance but was pushing to protect vital Swedish industries. “We’ve managed to exclude several key input goods important for Swedish jobs,” he said.
The talks come ahead of an August 1st deadline set by Donald Trump, who recently threatened tariffs of up to 50 percent on goods from countries that do not comply with US trade terms.
Swedish vocabulary: kritiskt läge – a critical situation
Swedish Migration Agency rates just two jobs as ‘high risk’ for work permits
The Swedish Migration Agency has rated two job titles – cooks and pantry chefs, and cleaners – as high risk for work permits, saying it doesn’t have enough data to include other professions that are also known as being at risk of abuse.
The agency was requested in February to provide the list of job titles which could be excused a future new salary threshold for work permits, and also asked to propose a list of job titles for which it should not be possible to get work permits, due to the “great risk of exploitation and abuse”.
Although the cleaning, hotel and restaurant, construction, temping, retail, agricultural, car repair, and personal assistance sectors are all seen as at high risk of abuse, the agency said in its report that “methodological difficulties” meant it lacked sufficient data to back work permit bans for more job titles.
“It’s only for two job descriptions that we that we have the numbers required to draw any conclusions, and that’s then cleaners and also cooks and pantry chefs,” Hanna Geurtsen, the official leading the agency’s mission to make work permit processing more efficient, told The Local.
In its report, the agency said that the inquiry into work permits had already suggested that berry pickers and personal assistants should be ineligible for permits, although it noted that “berry picker” was bundled together with “planter” in SSYK, Sweden’s list of 429 job titles.
Swedish vocabulary: källskanka – pantry chef