After IS terror in Brussels
Sweden is planning hurdles for some migrant groups
October 20, 2023, 10:13 p.m
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The murder of two Swedish football fans by a rejected asylum seeker in Brussels is having an impact on the government in Stockholm. The leaders of the right-wing coalition want to make it more difficult for certain migrant groups to access social benefits.
Sweden’s right-wing government wants to make it harder for non-European immigrants to access social benefits. “Since 2012, more than 770,000 people have immigrated to Sweden from countries outside the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA),” said the leaders of the three-party coalition and the ultra-right Sweden Democrats, who tolerate Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s minority government an opinion piece for the newspaper “Dagens Nyheter”.
“Together with an integration policy that has placed almost no demands (on migrants) and offered no incentives to integrate into society, widespread immigration has created a divided Sweden,” the party leaders wrote, lamenting “segregation, social exclusion, unemployment , poor school performance and a lack of common Swedish values”.
There are also “significant problems” with foreign-born people who are unemployed and living at state expense, the post said. The authors did not give any specific numbers. According to their own statements, they want to restrict social benefits for non-EU and non-EEA citizens so that in the future they will no longer receive several benefits such as child benefit, housing benefit, unemployment benefit, sickness benefit and parental benefit. In addition, this immigrant group should be required to learn Swedish and look for work.
Gang violence as a result of “irresponsible immigration policy”
Since the 1990s, Sweden, a country of 10.3 million inhabitants, has taken in numerous people from crisis countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Somalia. Last month, Prime Minister Kristersson attributed the recent rampant gang violence in Sweden to “irresponsible immigration policy and failed integration.”
The death of two Swedish football fans in an Islamist-motivated attack in Brussels at the beginning of the week also caused debate. In addition to Belgium, the accused Tunisian had also unsuccessfully applied for asylum in Norway, Sweden and Italy, but was not deported.