The question of abolishing the surplus target of 0.33 percent of GDP over a business cycle has been debated for a long time. And it has now become highly topical in the review of the framework for public finances that is conducted every eighth year.
A balance target would provide good and sufficient margins, according to Hans Lindberg, chairman of the committee handling the issue.
"We have landed very well"
This conclusion is shared by six out of eight parliamentary parties with around 90 percent of the votes.
Elisabeth Svantesson is pleased with the conclusions.
We have landed very well. It gives us the opportunity to continue having a low national debt, but still get the opportunity for new investments that Sweden now needs, she says at a press conference.
She mentions, among other things, Sweden's need for investments in defense.
We get a good framework with this agreement, she adds.
The committee's report will be processed by the Government Offices when it is finalized to form the basis for a proposal that the Riksdag will take a stance on.
The so-called debt anchor, another essential part of the framework, is to remain unchanged according to the committee's conclusions.
I am glad that we have managed to gather such a broad majority, says Hans Lindberg at a press conference with the committee's members from the Riksdag's eight parties by his side.
A balance target would provide good margins and sufficient margins. And it would provide a budget space of 25 billion per year, which can be used to address important social challenges, says Hans Lindberg.
Edward Riedl (The Moderate Party), chairman of the Finance Committee and member of the committee, is also pleased.
When Swedish politics work at their best, we agree on the frameworks, he adds and thanks for good cooperation in the committee.
Surplus target since the 1990s crisis
Fredrik Olovsson (The Social Democrats), vice chairman of the Finance Committee, is on the same track.
This provides a better foundation, he says.
The surplus target was lowered to 0.33 percent over a business cycle in 2019. The rule that the state should always run a surplus originated from the large banking and real estate crisis and subsequent fiscal problems that characterized the Swedish economy in the 1990s.
Two parties, The Left Party and The Green Party, have reserved themselves against the committee's proposal.
A historic failure, says Ida Gabrielsson (The Left Party), about the proposal.
