SWEDEN'S EU PRESIDENCY: MIGRATION MINISTER ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STOCKHOLM 000105

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2019
TAGS: PREF PINR EU SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN'S EU PRESIDENCY: MIGRATION MINISTER ON
ASYLUM AND MIGRATION ASPECTS OF "STOCKHOLM PROGRAM"

Classified By: CDA Robert Silverman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: On February 11, Swedish Minister of Migration
Tobias Billstrom discussed with us asylum and migration
aspects of the "Stockholm Program." This is the planned
five-year initiative that will replace the Hague Program and
will aim to further harmonize EU asylum and migration
policies, leading to a common European migration and asylum
system. A package of recommendations is expected from the
Commission by May, which will be the subject of discussions
at the informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial in
Sweden in July. Billstrom said Sweden thinks more EU member
states should take part in the UNHCR quota program, and the
EU should offer resettlement support to those it repatriates.
Bio Note: Fully on top of all aspects of his portfolio,
Billstrom is a rising star in the ruling New Moderates. End
Summary.

2. (C) On February 11, CDA met with Swedish Migration
Minister Tobias Billstrom to discuss the planned "Stockholm
Program" on asylum, migration and visa policies that Sweden
will push during its EU Presidency, July 1-December 31.
Billstrom made the following points:

-- The Stockholm Program will be a top priority for Sweden
during the EU presidency, and could well be a "deliverable"
adopted at the December EU Council. A package of specific
recommendations on a common asylum, border, and migration
policy would be produced by the European Commission in May
and an agenda item at the subject of discussions at the July
15-17 informal Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial to be
held in Stockholm.

-- Some of the Stockholm Program agenda items would be
achievable in the short term while others might take a decade
or more. For example, newer EU member states were more
accustomed to "fleeing from" than "fleeing to" a country, so
the importance they place on asylum policy is less than in
other member states.

-- Sweden's goal is an "ambitious, balanced and
forward-looking program" that strikes the right balance
between "repression" (border controls, for example) and the
integrity of the individual (and an efficient, responsive
adjudication system). Sweden is not planning to develop an a
la carte program with policies that member states could take
or leave, but rather a cohesive set of policy and
regulations.

-- On paper at least, there has been political agreement
within the EU on the importance of uniform rules since at
least October 1999, when the "Tampere" program was endorsed
by the EU Council. But a decade later there still exist big
differences in the interpretation of these principles,
leading to vastly unequal distribution of migrants and asylum
seekers across the EU.

-- Sweden would like to see the establishment of an European
Asylum Support Office, which would not be a new agency but
rather an advisory entity that would work to promote
information sharing and training opportunities. The
Commission will put forward a proposal for such an office in
May.

-- Sweden would like to see all EU member states taking part
in UNHCR,s quota refugee program. The flood of Iraqi
refugees that washed up in Sweden in the last three years
served as a "wake-up call" in Europe; "Yesterday it was
Sweden, but tomorrow it could be another country," Billstrom
stated. If all 27 EU states operated a re-settlement program
that accepted a similar percentage of refugees as Sweden,
then the EU as a whole might accept up to 90,000 per year.

-- The external dimension of a Common European Asylum System
will also be important if EU member states are to be able to
repatriate people to their home countries. Sweden offers
re-establishment support for those repatriated to Iraq of
roughly $3,800 USD per adult and $1,900 USD per child. This
support has led to an increase in voluntary returns, with the
ratio of voluntary to forced returns being 9:1.

New Labor Laws
--------------

-- "Demography does not lie" and the population of Europe
will continue decreasing, Billstrom said, so the need for a
flexible and responsive system of labor migration has never
been greater. New visa regulations for skilled workers came
into effect in Sweden two months ago, and 2000 skilled
applicants have already applied for Swedish work visas. To
date, some 80% of applicants had been approved, and 1000
individuals had been granted a visa, mainly nationals of

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India, China and Thailand. Given the shortage of skilled
labor in rural communities, especially in northern Sweden,
local officials see the program as "a golden opportunity" to
bring nurses and other skilled workers to their towns.

Integration Challenges
--------------

-- On integration issues, the biggest challenge to Swedish
society is less related to religious ideology and more to
unemployment rates in migrant communities. "It is not just a
matter of learning Swedish, but of connecting new Swedes to
the open labor market," Billstrom said, underlining that the
government is somewhat worried about continuing criticism for
failing to integrate newcomers into society. Some 1% of
Swedish residents are Iraqi origin, and another 1% are
Iranian origin.


3. (C) Comment: Billstrom painted a rosier picture of
Sweden's immigration and integration situation than the one
portrayed in the media. Immigrant populations from the
Middle East and North Africa are increasingly vocal in their
dissatisfaction of the government's slow delivery of social
services -- this despite the fact that Sweden has one of the
most generous such programs in the EU. The government's
Stockholm Program may have many merits for the EU as a
whole, but it is also in part a reaction to the domestic
problems here.


4. (C) Bio Note: Tobias Billstrom is a rising star in the New
Moderates, the centrist faction of the largest party in the
coalition government. A 2002 graduate of Cambridge
University, he has risen very quickly through the party ranks
and remains politically closely aligned with PM Frederik
Reinfeldt. Appointed to the Cabinet in 2006 at age 32, he
was given the migration portfolio, which he has fully
mastered. He seeks out opportunities to discuss the
intricacies of refugee policy at international conferences
and he has used his expert knowledge of the subject to
outmaneuver political opponents in Parliament who try to pin
him down on the question of Sweden resettling Guantanamo
detainees. Should the center-right Alliance be re-elected in
2010, we assume Billstrom will have a much bigger role in the
Cabinet.
SILVERMAN