Sweden's anti-ghetto plans

Sweden's Minister for Migration and Integration Anders Ygeman wants to introduce a variant of Denmark's "ghetto plan" in his own country. But he proposes going even further than Sweden and limiting the concentration of "non-Nordic" residents in problem neighbourhoods. Sweden's media view the plan with mixed feelings.

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Göteborgs-Posten (SE) /

Language is key to integration

Göteborgs-Posten also sees some positive sides to the initiative:

“Some no doubt feel tempted to dismiss Ygeman's experimental aproach to criteria for population counts in certain areas as inhumane and racist. In that case, however, they will be closing their eyes to the findings of Danish politicians: in addition to good language skills and job opportunities, a balanced combination of populations is also important for integration. Ygeman himself puts it like this: 'If you want to learn Swedish, you have to practise. If you live in an area where you can communicate in the language of your home country it becomes vastly more difficult to learn and develop your language skills'.”

Upsala Nya Tidning (SE) /

Against EU principles

Upsala Nya Tidning wonders why the minister wants to go even further than the Danish model:

“Ygeman's lax approach to the classification of neighbourhoods suggests that the proposal is ill-considered. Denmark chose the broader group designated as 'West' as the dividing line. According to Ygeman this has a 'touch of the colonial' about it, which is why he prefers the term 'Nordic'. However, it is not immediately apparent why distinguishing between groups within Europe would be any less biased. Freedom of movement for EU citizens is a cornerstone of the Union. According to Ygeman's definition, a high proportion of Germans in a residential area would become a pressing integration problem, while the same concentration of Danes would be unproblematic.”