Swedish government considers national ban on begging
EU citizens have come to Sweden to beg, leading to a rise in crime, far-right leader says.
Sweden’s center-right government and the far-right Sweden Democrats party are looking into the feasibility of a nationwide ban on begging.
“This is good and absolutely necessary,” Linda Lindberg, leader of the Sweden Democrats, said during a Monday press conference.
“Begging had been rare in Sweden until the early 2010s when many EU citizens came from other countries to Sweden to beg,” Lindberg claimed, adding the phenomenon had led to more systematic and elaborate crimes.
“In our opinion, it is not reasonable for people to travel across half of Europe to beg outside our stores,” she said, adding that begging bans have existed in Sweden before.
The ban on begging was one of the original election promises of the Sweden Democrats party, which along with the country’s three governing right-wing parties won a slim majority in the 2022 national election. The Sweden Democrats provides outside support to the government.
An investigator has been appointed to explore how such a ban could be implemented legally — without running foul of international conventions and human rights — and to present their findings to the Swedish parliament at the end of June 2025.
Some members of the opposition Liberal Party have said they will not vote in favor of the ban. Lindberg, however, is optimistic.
“I will not rule out that next summer we will have a basis that is so well-prepared and well-balanced that other parties may also consider supporting it,” she said.
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