ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Industries card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 36 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEconomy & work
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Economy & work

Industries

Production, from raw materials to microcomputers

Steel, paper, batteries and pharmaceuticals: industry accounts for a large share of Sweden's exports and for the whole identity of many towns. Where a factory may be located, what emissions it may have and who trains its staff is decided in a chain from Brussels down to the municipal hall.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · land, plans & approval · approx 20 %
  • Region · skills & development · approx 10 %
  • State · environmental review & energy · approx 45 %
  • EU · emissions trading & market · approx 25 %

The central government weighs heaviest through environmental review, energy and legislation, but without the municipality's land and plans there is no factory. The EU's climate and market rules govern more and more.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe land & the plans
The regionThe skills & the county
Central governmentThe review & the frame · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the building committee (byggnadsnämnd), with the planning monopoly as its tool.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the regional development committee.
The Riksdag, the Government, the County Administrative Boards (länsstyrelser), the land and environment courts, and Naturvårdsverket (the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency).
What do they decide?
Detailed development plans (detaljplan), land, water and sewage, and often a decisive yes or no to large establishments.
Regional development strategy, skills supply and coordination around the infrastructure that industry needs.
The Environmental Code, environmental permits, energy supply, research policy and industry taxes.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipal council and the building committee. Detailed development plans always go out for public consultation (samråd).
In the regional council, often together with municipalities and businesses.
Environmental permits are examined by the County Administrative Board or the land and environment court, with open consultations.
Who pays?
The municipal tax, often in the hope of jobs and tax revenue in return.
The regional tax plus national development funds.
The central government budget: infrastructure, research and the power grid. Companies pay review fees.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Respond to the consultation on the detailed development plan, submit a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag), attend the council's meetings.
Regional election Take part when the regional development strategy goes out for consultation (remiss).
General election Give your views in environmental reviews, respond to referrals (remiss) on energy and industrial policy.
EUThe EU governs emissions trading, the state aid rules and the product requirements on the internal market. Influence it in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A battery factory looks for a site
  1. EU

    Climate rules and state aid set the frame

    The EU's emissions trading puts a price on carbon dioxide, and the state aid rules decide what the central government and the municipality may offer to attract the factory. The playing field is European before the site is even chosen.

  2. Municipality

    The municipality offers land

    The business office tempts with a plot and quick handling, and the municipal council starts work on a new detailed development plan (detaljplan). The planning monopoly makes the municipality the gatekeeper: no plan, no factory.

    Point of influence

    The detailed development plan goes out for consultation (samråd). Neighbours, associations and anyone interested may give their views.

  3. State

    The environmental permit is examined

    The land and environment court examines emissions to air and water, noise and chemical handling under the Environmental Code. Before the application, an open consultation is held with all affected. The court's permit decision can be appealed to the Land and Environment Court of Appeal by parties and affected people who have given their views.

    Point of influence

    The consultation in the environmental review is open, and affected people can appeal the decision.

  4. State

    Power and roads must be built

    Svenska kraftnät (the national grid operator) and Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration) plan the power grid and roads the factory requires. The national infrastructure plans are decided by the Government after rounds of consultation (remiss).

  5. Region

    The county gears up for the factory

    The region maps the skills needs, coordinates training with municipalities and universities, and plans public transport and housing supply together with the municipalities.

  6. Your everyday life

    The shift begins

    The factory hires, the newcomers arrive and the town's tax base grows. Every step along the way was a public decision with a door in for whoever wanted to have an influence.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What would a large industrial establishment mean for your town, and what would you be prepared to put up with for it?

  2. How should a fast climate transition be weighed against careful environmental reviews when they pull in different directions?

  3. Who should pay for roads, power and housing when a factory arrives: the company, the municipality or the central government?

  4. What industry is or was where you live, and what has it done to the place?

  5. Should a municipality be able to say no to establishments that the whole country needs?

Glossary

Planmonopol
The municipality's sole right to decide how land may be used through comprehensive plans and detailed development plans.
Detaljplan
The municipality's legally binding plan for what may be built in an area, decided after a public consultation.
Miljöbalken
The consolidated Swedish environmental law that governs permits for operations that affect the environment.
Miljötillstånd
A permit that larger operations must have, examined by the County Administrative Board or the land and environment court.
Utsläppshandel
The EU's system where companies buy and sell rights to emit carbon dioxide.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.