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full screen Center Party’s party leader Muharrem Demirok (C) in Almedalen. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
The Center Party wants to see a mandatory “fresh start year” for those born abroad.
Those who do not participate must be punished in the form of a significantly lower contribution.
The Center Party is advancing with a new integration reform during its half-day in Almedalen in Visby.
The party proposes a mandatory so-called fresh start year for everyone who has been in Sweden for the past three years, who does not already have a job and who was born abroad.
The freshman year must include studies, if necessary SFI, combined with practice and matching with the labor market. After completing one year, the person must be entitled to an establishment job, which is a type of subsidized employment aimed at newly arrived and long-term unemployed.
The party expects a cost of SEK 2.5 billion per year if approximately 50,000 people were to participate.
Anyone who does not complete the new start year must suffer consequences, in the form of a “significantly lower contribution”, according to C. Primarily, it is the subsistence allowance that must be reduced, but by how much is unclear.
Today, there is already an integration measure called intensive year, which is a voluntary part of the Employment Service’s establishment program. The reform was introduced in 2021, but in the first year only around 800 people went there and therefore the measure needs to be developed and become mandatory, according to the Center.