Where is Sweden's plan to invest in digitalization and the green transition?

Last summer, the leaders of the 27 EU member states agreed on a recovery package, Next Generation EU, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It amounted to an incredible EUR 750 billion in a combination of grants and loans to be distributed among the member states. For Sweden, this is about SEK 40 billion, of which 20% is earmarked for investments in digitization. The fact that at least SEK 8 billion will go to digitization is welcome and can make a big difference for a stronger digital transition.

A number of countries have already presented plans for aggressive investments in digitalization. Finland, for example, is planning to invest heavily in digital infrastructure, while Germany is investing billions in AI and data analytics.

While other countries are stepping forward, the Swedish government's plans for the future are shrouded in mystery. There is no stated ambition to use the funds made available for forward-looking investments like Germany and Finland. Nor is there any clarity in the objectives as to how the funds from the EU could reinforce and implement the national digitization strategy. There is no lack of ambition in Sweden's digitization policy objectives. The national digitization strategy "For a sustainable digitized Sweden - a digitization strategy" sets the overall goal that Sweden should be the best in the world at using the opportunities of digitization.

Sweden has historically been well placed in terms of technological development and not least in terms of digitalization. But unfortunately, we need to revise our self-image and we can no longer rely solely on previous investments and courageous political decisions on, for example, broadband expansion and PC reform. Other countries are moving faster than Sweden and we have many challenges to tackle. We are among the last in Europe when it comes to the rollout of 5G, and we are behind when it comes to investments in AI. The potential is great and the opportunities are enormous. Digitization is part of the solution to the many challenges society faces today linked to the environment, welfare and competitiveness, but also to restarting economies and businesses after the corona crisis.

We fear that the government's ambitions in digitalization remain at the level of party speeches and big words and that there is a lack of real will and active commitment. The government needs to develop a plan that shows the direction and priorities and addresses the challenges that can be solved with the help of digitization. Many good proposals for initiatives and priorities have been put forward by, among others, the government's own authorities in the field of digitization (PTS and DIGG), which in a new report have pointed to the need for a number of measures and not least clear leadership for the continued transition. Similarly, there are many wise proposals in the government's collaboration program on the digital structural transformation of the business sector, in which we ourselves are actively participating.

We are convinced that what our member companies do, living in the midst of digitization, and what the government does, both matter a lot for development. We can complement each other. Sweden must play a leading role in digitization, and this requires substantial investments from both business and the public sector.

By showing leadership and using the opportunity now available through the EU restart package, the government would give an important signal and conditions for this. We therefore call on the government to develop a forward-looking plan with offensive and ambitious initiatives in the field of digitization for a sustainable restart of society and the economy!

Klas Wåhlberg, CEO of Teknikföretagen

Åsa Zetterberg, Director of IT&Telecom Confederation