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The annual review of the government by the Constitution Committee is complete and was presented during a press conference Thursday. KU has examined 30 reports from Riksdag members and a few more issues that the committee examined on its own initiative. In twelve of the cases, KU considers that there have been deficiencies.
– I am pleased to present a completely unanimous and unreserved report, says President Karin Enström (M).
Notable among the cases is the high-profile case of the Iraqi Defense Minister, who was a Swedish citizen and suspected of crimes against humanity. KU believes that Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist should be informed about this, given that Sweden had military personnel in Iraq during the period.
– It is strange that the information did not reach the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, says KU Vice President Hans Ekström (S).
KU also raises the question of handling information in the case of the false officer, which DN revealed earlier in the year. The investigation showed that information was available in the Government Offices and the Armed Forces that the man was unfit from a security point of view, but that, nevertheless, he was recruited for new prestigious managerial positions.
“If the issue had been followed up, the Government Offices would have received information about the person’s previous assignments at, among other places, NATO military headquarters much earlier than in relation to media reports. According to KU, it is reasonable that both the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are made aware of such information as soon as possible, ”the committee writes.
Two other notable cases concern the decision on the mining operations at Kallak, which took seven years, and the permit case related to the expansion of the Preem refinery in Lysekil. In the latter case, there were contacts between the Government Offices and Preem before the company withdrew its application, Expressen revealed.
“The withdrawal of the application has not been discussed, but the form and content of the contacts means that KU questions the appropriateness of communicating with people in that way,” KU writes.
KU reviews every year the performance of the functions of the ministers and the management of the administration. This has been achieved through hearings of the Prime Minister and several of the Prime Ministers. The idea was for the review to be completed earlier, but this spring KU decided to postpone it as a result of the corona pandemic.
KU has also launched an investigation into the government’s handling of the corona pandemic, in addition to the government-appointed corona commission. The committee will examine issues such as the restraining order on elder care, testing and modifying budgets, but this is not covered by Thursday’s review report.
