Gunnar Strömmer

The Government has presented its publication ‘A concerted approach to intellectual property’. This is part of the Government’s effort to strengthen Sweden’s innovative capacity and competitiveness and to promote and secure a rich cultural offering, both nationally and globally.

The Government’s task force for Jewish life in Sweden gathered for its first meeting of the year on 30 January. On this occasion, it was held at the Swedish Police Authority’s premises in Kungsholmen, Stockholm. The meeting was attended by Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer, National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh and representatives of the Swedish Institute for Human Rights and the National Agency for Education.

Jewish culture is an integral part of Swedish culture, and Jewish history in Sweden is an essential thread in the fabric of our shared cultural heritage. It should be self-evident that Jews in Sweden can wear their Star of David or kippah openly and with pride. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

The Government has decided to appoint an inquiry to deepen knowledge about parallel social structures that among other things consist of clans and family-based networks. The inquiry will define the impacts of such groups in terms of integration and exclusion in Sweden. The aim is to develop in-depth knowledge that will improve efforts to counteract parallel social structures and contribute to a safer, and a more cohesive Sweden.

Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer and Morocco’s Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi today signed a declaration of intent on strengthened cooperation in the field of justice.

On 10 October 2025, the Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer received Iraq’s Minister of Interior. In connection with the visit, the two ministers signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on law enforcement cooperation, focusing on cross-border organised crime.

The EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is set to start operations on 12 October 2025. The Government has therefore decided that legislative amendments adapting Swedish law to the new system will start to apply on the same day.

The head of the Swedish Security Service has decided to lower the terrorist threat level from level 4 (‘high’) to level 3 (‘elevated’) on a five-level scale. The decision is based on a comprehensive assessment.

The Government has decided to refer a proposal for new legislation to criminalise virginity testing, virginity certificates and hymenoplasty to the Council on Legislation. The proposal also includes criminalising the failure to report forced or child marriage. These proposals aim to strengthen the protection of women and girls living in communities where honour-based abuse is prevalent.

On 28 January, Sweden signed a bilateral law enforcement agreement with Colombia during Maria Malmer Stenergard’s visit to Colombia.

Brochure in pdf format presenting Resistance and decisive action – a national strategy against organised crime.

On 21 January 2025, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer travelled to Ankara to launch Sweden and Türkiye’s bilateral security dialogue, Security Compact. In talks with their Turkish counterparts, joint efforts to combat terrorism and cross-border organised crime and current international affairs were discussed.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer will travel to Ankara on 21 January to launch Sweden and Türkiye’s bilateral security dialogue, Security Compact. During the meeting the ministers will discuss security cooperation and international affairs.

We welcome the revision of the Directive on combating sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and wish to declare the following.

The Government met with more than 50 heads of government agencies to follow up these agencies’ efforts to promote gender equality in the frame of the Swedish Government’s development programme on gender mainstreaming in government agencies, which have been underway for over a decade. The focus of the meeting was to both take stock of the results of these efforts and have a dialogue about the future direction.

On 26 November, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed two bilateral agreements – one on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and one on extradition. This is to strengthen the cooperation to combat organised crime and reduce criminals’ to carry out criminal activities in our respective countries.

Due to technical issues with Sweden’s state aircraft, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer were unfortunately re-directed back to Stockholm, Arlanda. This was purely a safety measure and neither passengers nor crew were in danger.

Swedish and Finnish ministers will undertake a number of joint visits on the afternoon of 16 September. Media representatives are welcome to take part in the visits. Contact the relevant press contacts for more information, see below. Note that the list is subject to change.

The Government is now presenting an action programme to prevent and combat men’s violence against women, domestic violence, honour-based violence and oppression, and prostitution and human trafficking for the period 2024–2026. The programme contains over 130 initiatives and measures to be undertaken on a broad front at national, regional and local level. The efforts will also be strengthened in four special priority areas for development.

More and more children and young people are becoming involved in criminal networks, and stopping recruitment requires early interventions, knowledge-based methods and collaboration. Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer and Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall therefore hosted Nordic countries, including the autonomous regions, for a discussion about children and young people who are, or risk being, involved in crime. The meeting was held within the framework of the ongoing Swedish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.