Swedish government eyes further cuts to foreign aid

Sweden's ruling parties, the Moderates and Sweden Democrats, are pushing for significant reductions in foreign aid. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) stated that the previous one percent aid target, which would have amounted to approximately 75 billion kronor this year, is no longer the benchmark. He argued that Sweden remains generous and that billions could be better utilized within Swedish policy.

“

We are still incredibly generous with Swedish taxpayers' money to other countries.

Kristersson suggested that Sweden could align with a European average for aid, around 0.5% of GDP, which would translate to about 15 billion kronor less than the current aid framework. Oscar Sjöstedt, the economic spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats, indicated that his party had initially pushed for even deeper cuts, aiming for a halving of the aid budget, and expressed satisfaction that the Moderates are moving towards their stance.

“

My starting point is that we can be at some kind of European average.

The Moderates are campaigning on a platform that contrasts Swedish healthcare and elder care with foreign aid. However, the Liberal and Christian Democrat parties, also part of the governing coalition, maintain their adherence to the one percent target in principle. Opposition parties like the Centre Party, Left Party, Green Party, and Social Democrats also support the one percent goal. Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, however, deems returning to the target within one parliamentary term unrealistic, and her party's budget proposal for 2026 only allocated one billion kronor more than the government's aid framework.

“

Last time we proposed a halving, but we didn't quite get that far.