Sweden in Focus

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ __In this week’s episode Sweden’s Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz speaks with The Local’s publisher James Savage. James caught up with the minister on Thursday the 15th of January, a day after Danish and Greenlandic officials attended a meeting at the White House over the future of the Arctic island that US President Donald Trump said the United States wants to acquire. In the days following this interview Trump announced that the US was planning to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries that sent military personnel to Greenland on Denmark’s request. Sweden is one of the countries affected and the Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson reacted by saying that Europe would not let itself be blackmailed. Jessica Rosencrantz also speaks in the interview about what the EU can do to bolster its own defensive capability. And do Sweden’s plans to tighten citizenship requirements make it harder to compete for highly skilled workers with other EU countries.Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Jessica Rosencrantz. READ ALSO:INTERVIEW: ‘Sweden stands fully behind Denmark and Greenland’

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ __In this week's episode we talk about brand new figures from the Migration Agency showing a steep drop in work permit and citizenship approvals in 2025 and we look at what some readers are telling us about why they’re choosing to leave Sweden.We also dig into the many ways the Swedish language lets us talk about wintry weather.For Membership+ subscribers we sink our teeth into the Swedish foods with geographical names that have earned official EU protected status from Scanian spettekaka to the polka pigs of Gränna.Finally we discuss how to choose a school for your child now that the application period is underway.Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpt from a conversation with Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Immigration Number of people granted Swedish citizenship drops 40 percentHow Sweden's government ignored warnings when revoking work permit lawWill deported workers really be able to return to Sweden after just 19 days?'I’m not valued': The reasons foreign residents are leaving SwedenLearning Swedish'Pig cold': How to talk about the winter weather in SwedishFood and drinkCalf dance and boiled bread: The Swedish foods with EU protectionSchoolsHow to enrol your child in a Swedish school

In this week's episode we talk about brand new figures from the Migration Agency showing a steep drop in work permit and citizenship approvals in 2025 and we look at what some readers are telling us about why they’re choosing to leave Sweden.We also dig into the many ways the Swedish language lets us talk about wintry weather.For Membership+ subscribers we sink our teeth into the Swedish foods with geographical names that have earned official EU protected status from Scanian spettekaka to the polka pigs of Gränna.Finally we discuss how to choose a school for your child now that the application period is underway.Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpt from a conversation with Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Immigration Number of people granted Swedish citizenship drops 40 percentHow Sweden's government ignored warnings when revoking work permit lawWill deported workers really be able to return to Sweden after just 19 days?'I’m not valued': The reasons foreign residents are leaving SwedenLearning Swedish'Pig cold': How to talk about the winter weather in SwedishFood and drinkCalf dance and boiled bread: The Swedish foods with EU protectionSchoolsHow to enrol your child in a Swedish school

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ _This week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Niels Paarup-Petersen, the Centre Party's immigration spokesperson.Paarup-Petersen is a Danish-born, Malmö-based politician who became a Swedish citizen in 2010 in order to be able to vote in the country he moved to with his Swedish partner.The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with him recently to get his analysis of what’s likely to happen with Sweden’s many immigration reforms in 2026 and whether immigration will be a big issue for voters in this year’s general election.READ ALSO:'Let's not kick people out of Sweden who are already contributing'

This week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Niels Paarup-Petersen, the Centre Party's immigration spokesperson.Paarup-Petersen is a Danish-born, Malmö-based politician who became a Swedish citizen in 2010 in order to be able to vote in the country he moved to with his Swedish partner.The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with him recently to get his analysis of what’s likely to happen with Sweden’s many immigration reforms in 2026 and whether immigration will be a big issue for voters in this year’s general election.Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Niels Paarup-Petersen. READ ALSO:'Let's not kick people out of Sweden who are already contributing'

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.__In this week's episode we talk about growing protests over the deportation from Sweden of foreign workers and whether people taking to the streets is likely to have any impact on government policy.We also look at how Sweden is reacting to the capture of Venezuela’s president in a US military operation as well as US President Donald Trump’s renewed calls for his country to take control of Greenland.For Membership+ subscribers we highlight new laws that will impact our lives in Sweden in 2026, and we examine the state of play for the political parties at the start of election year.Finally we explain why Swedes traditionally wait until 20 days after Christmas before throwing out their Christmas trees.Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpts from interviews with the Centre Party's immigration policy spokesperson Niels Paarup-Petersen and Stockholm University politics professor Jan Teorell. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Immigration 'Sweden is my children's country': Health professionals ordered to leave after years of workDeportations spark pushback against Swedish migration reforms'Let's not kick people out of Sweden who are already contributing'Sweden's government to submit new work permit law to parliament 'in a couple of weeks'Sweden and the US'We are free': Venezuelans in Sweden split on US attackSweden in 2026LISTED: All the new laws coming into force in Sweden at the start of 202620th day of Christmas Why Swedish Christmas lasts until January 13thHow to dispose of your Christmas tree in Sweden