Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday

Swedish report: Make it possible to stop foreign investment

Sweden should be able to ban foreign investors from buying up whole or parts of Swedish companies that handle system-critical infrastructure and are important to Swedish security interests, a new government-ordered inquiry proposes.

It should only be possible to ban foreign investment if it is considered absolutely vital to protect security interests or key areas such as transport, energy, food or healthcare.

Organisations and public authorities will now be invited to comment on the proposal, and if it goes ahead the inquiry suggests it should come into force on January 1st 2023.

Swedish vocabulary: inquiry – utredning

How Swedish parties want to tighten up labour migration

Sweden's work permit rules are expected to become a talking point ahead of the country's general election next year, with several political parties calling for stricter labour migration. Although multiple parties from both sides of the political spectrum want to adapt the current system, they have different ideas as to how best to do this.

Here’s The Local’s rundown of what the main parties have been saying.

Swedish vocabulary: labour migration – arbetsinvandring

Sweden's work permit rules are expected to become a talking point ahead of the country's general election next year, with several political parties calling for stricter labour migration. https://t.co/RIaQ6oIipQ

— The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) November 1, 2021

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven defends pandemic response

Outgoing Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has in an interview with the TT newswire for the first time commented on the second report by the independent Corona Commission, set up by the government last year to investigate Sweden’s pandemic response.

The report described it as “a complete failure” that large-scale testing was slow to get under way, delayed until discussions about responsibility and funding were resolved. The word used in the Swedish version of the report was haveri, which the official English version of the report translates as “complete failure” – but it could also mean for example breakdown, disaster or train wreck; the word can be used to describe anything from a plane crash to a computer failure.

“Haveri, I think that’s stretching it. It sounds like the entire society collapses, and that’s not true. I think haveri is a strong word,” said Löfven.

“Our responsibility as a government is to make sure that the resources are there. The government doesn’t test. The regions are responsible for testing.”

Swedish vocabulary: large-scale – storskalig

The Coronavirus Commission, appointed to examine Sweden’s coronavirus strategy, has presented its second interim report on Sweden's response to the pandemic. https://t.co/4Qe5HHkROF

— The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) October 29, 2021

Girls urged to seek help for female genital mutilation

Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare estimates that around 38,000 girls and women in Sweden have been subjected to genital mutilation – and the figure is even higher according to the European Institute for Gender Equality: more than 59,400.

Around 5,000 people contacted Swedish healthcare services to seek help for the issue between 2012 and 2018, reports TT, most of them during their pregnancies. But the National Board of Health and Welfare expressed concern that many more people who need care don’t ask for it, and that there is a lack of knowledge among healthcare staff.

Genital mutilation is mainly carried out during the ages 4-14, and the women and girls are often from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt and Gambia, writes TT.

Carrying out or planning female genital mutilation is illegal in Sweden. There are links with information in various languages on the 1177.se healthcare website about what to do if you’ve been subjected to it or are worried that another person is at risk.

Swedish vocabulary: genital mutilation – könsstympning