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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 
 
STOCKHOLM 00000105  002 OF 002 
 
 
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