Vilnius, March 20, 2007
Niklas Frank
Committee on Finance
Swedish Parliament
27/07/2016
Unlimited power over the budget for
Swedish Parliament
• Any MP have unlimited right to propose
increased or decreased expenditures or
taxes
• Parliament can make any amendment
to the Budget Bill
• However: in practice, Parliament makes
only tiny amendments
27/07/2016
Budget reform
• High deficit and debt triggered reforms
• Part of broad program of fiscal
consolidation
• Reforms in both Parliament and Government - well timed and coordinated, but
informally
27/07/2016
Main elements of budget reform
• Fiscal discipline - Top down orientation
• Medium term budgetary targets,
surplus target and expenditure ceiling
• Structure of the budget
• Parliamentary budget process
• Legal framework
27/07/2016
Strengthened role for legislature in
budgeting?
Not necessarily in the Swedish case
27/07/2016
Budget reforms shifted power
• Strengthened the power of Government
• Concentrated Parliamentary budget
influence to the Finance Committee
27/07/2016
Two stage decision model
1. Finance Committee sets expenditure
caps and approves taxes
2. Sectoral Committees approve
appropriations
27/07/2016
Two stage decision model
Aggregate expenditure and tax
amendments are approved by the
Finance Committee
One single decision
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Two stage decision model
• Forces the opposition to present
complete budget alternatives
• Improves the quality and transparency
of budget discussions
• Strengthens a minority Government
27/07/2016
Two stage decision model
• To reject a minority Government´s
budget, the opposition needs to agree
on a complete alternative
• Unless the opposition can agree on
everything, it cannot agree on anything
27/07/2016
Two stage decision model
• The former Government (minority)
always assured a majority before
submitting the budget to Parliament
• The procedural support for a minority
Government has therefore never been
used
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Entitlements enhance the role of
Sectoral Committees
Not necessarily in the Swedish case
27/07/2016
• Entitlements caped by expenditure
ceiling
• Sectoral Committees must not exceed
expenditure limits
• Changes in taxes of fees must be
approved by Finance Committee
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