The Government is appointing an inquiry that will investigate whether foreign funding of "anti-democratic interests" in Sweden can be prohibited or restricted.
Concretely, it may involve mosques, congregations, and churches with connections to extreme religious environments.
Two examples mentioned are a Shia mosque outside Stockholm, which was earlier this year pointed out for collaboration with the Iranian regime, and Russia's financing of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden.
This shows that today's legislation is not sufficient, says Mats Persson.
May be prohibited
According to the assignment, it may involve activities that, for example, defend terror or urge violent actions and sabotage.
The Tidö parties emphasize that foreign funding can be a threat to Sweden's security and lead to more people being radicalized and recruited to extremist environments.
According to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M), the goal is to counter financing. However, it may also become relevant to prohibit it completely.
We want different proposals, including the most stringent, a prohibition. But we do not anticipate the investigator's assessment, he says.
How common it is with foreign funding of operations in Sweden, and what the purpose is, is not known, and this is also something that the investigator will map out.
That religious communities, for example, Christian but also others, get grants from abroad is common and usually completely unproblematic, says Minister for Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD).
The purpose is not to prevent this type of financing, he emphasizes, but it's about anti-democratic interests.
We are trying to point out what we are after in the directives. Then there will be boundary-drawing problems, but the purpose is not to hit the scout movement collecting money abroad for a scout hut in Sweden, says Forssmed.
Exists in other countries
Several European countries have already introduced different types of rules for foreign funding of religious communities, including Germany, France, and Austria.
Experiences from these countries can give us some insights and guidance, says Henrik Vinge (SD).
The inquiry, which is an agreement between the Tidö parties, shall present its proposals no later than May 29 next year.
Whether the Government will have time to present a complete legislative proposal before the election remains to be seen.
