Regulatory proposals do not meet requirements

Sweden's wealth has traditionally rested on industries based on forests and ore. In recent years, a new sector has grown in importance and is now contributing to a strong Sweden - the tech sector.

In many sectors, the tech sector and its companies are leaders in developing and building digital solutions that simplify and reduce environmental and work environment problems. The sector contributes to a better and smarter Sweden with a growing export industry.

According to a recent report by IT&Telekomföretagen, the tech sector has established itself as a new base for the Swedish economy and its contribution to GDP is, in absolute terms, almost as large as that of the traditional Swedish basic industries combined.

It is important that the regulatory framework developed is predictable, clear and proportionate, and that it is accompanied by a thorough impact assessment that allows for the choice of the option that meets the desired outcome at the lowest cost for the industry and all stakeholders.

Unfortunately, our assessment is that the regulatory proposal presented by the Commission does not meet these requirements. It will impose major additional costs on industry, academia and the public sector, and it also contains many ambiguities and shortcomings that risk having a negative impact on Swedish and European innovation capacity and competitiveness, as we explain below.

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Lars Lundberg

Industry policy expert with focus on AI, welfare technology and public procurement