Official visit to Bern by the First Deputy Speaker of the Swedish parliament

National Council President Irène Kälin welcomed Åsa Lindestam, the First Deputy Speaker of the Swedish parliament, to Bern on 2 June. This was their second meeting; Ms Kälin paid an official visit to Sweden last April with a parliamentary delegation. As a member of the Sweden–Switzerland parliamentary friendship group for more than 20 years, Ms Lindestam knows Switzerland very well and wished to use her visit to focus on two topics: gender equality and professional education and training.

Bilateral relations

Ms Kälin recalled her official visit to Stockholm this past April and the many rewarding discussions she had with the Swedish parliament, particularly regarding European security challenges and the state of relations between Switzerland, Sweden and the European Union (EU). These talks confirmed her belief that the two countries should expand their work together. Ms Lindestam expressed her interest in Swiss direct democracy, especially the use of the referendum as a democratic tool. The referendum works well in Switzerland because Swiss people are so accustomed to voting, Ms Kälin said.

NATO membership and EU sanctions

At the official meeting Ms Lindestam spoke about Sweden’s application to join NATO. She provided more information on the role of the Swedish parliament and the state of parliamentary discussions since the application bid was announced on 18 May. She reported on the laws that have been amended to enable NATO membership and related concerns, particularly with regard to sending Swedish troops abroad. The issue of Turkey's opposition to Swedish and Finnish membership was also raised, as well as possible Russian retaliation if the two Nordic countries were to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Ms Lindestam nevertheless expressed her confidence in the accession process.

EU national leaders have reached an agreement on a sixth sanctions package, which includes a partial ban on most Russian oil imports by the end of the year and excludes crude oil in pipelines for the time being. In response to Ms Kälin’s request for the Swedish delegation's opinion on the matter, Ms Lindestam said she considered the sixth set of EU sanctions to be a good decision. Other parliamentarians in the Swedish delegation stressed that their country wanted above all for the EU sanctions to be taken seriously in order to stop the war.

Gender equality

The topic of gender equality was a priority at Ms Lindestam’s meeting with the director of the Federal Office for Gender Equality FOGE, Sylvie Durrer, co-president of alliance F, National Council member Kathrin Bertschy and the director of alliance F, Sophie Achermann. 

The FOGE director provided a summary of current gender equality legislation in Switzerland, including abortion rights, paternity leave, the fight against domestic violence, as well as ongoing discussions regarding the retirement age for women, taxation of couples and the gender pay gap. She mentioned that the Swiss often speak out on equality issues in popular votes. Ms Bertschy presented the activities and campaigns of alliance F, the only association in Switzerland working on the representation of women's interests in politics.

National Council President Irène Kälin with the Deputy First Speaker of the Swedish parliament Åsa Lindestam and her delegation in front of the Three Confederates statue

National Council President Irène Kälin and Deputy First Speaker of the Swedish parliament Åsa Lindestam at their official meeting

Exchange of gifts between National Council President Irène Kälin and Deputy First Speaker of the Swedish parliament Åsa Lindestam

Deputy First Speaker of the Swedish parliament Åsa Lindestam in the National Council chamber