 Good afternoon and welcome to this press conference from the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos 2016 we're joined on this panel today by by the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lövian to my immediate left and By a minister of just justice and a migration of Sweden Morgan Johansson Thank you for joining us Minister without further ado over to you Thank you very much and good afternoon first up and say I Think it's very important to be here world economic forum in Davos because it's it's a venue where Representatives from different parts of society the business community civil society and politics can meet and discuss Not least the issue that I am focusing on all the time How do we create more jobs and how can we increase growth and I believe that? We need more cooperation between these parts of the community in order to achieve results Several trade unions are also here in Davos and I have attended a seminar Discussing how we can support greater dialogue in the labor market and in the society between the social partners But also between the social partners and politics because we we want to both improve working conditions But also increased productivity in our labor market and in the economy the main theme this year is the fourth industrial revolution and At the informal gathering of world leaders later this afternoon I will highlight the importance of both new industrialization and readjustment of the labor market doing this in increasingly digitalized world But I am also convinced That the answer to this new reality is not to compete with lower wages Decreasing working conditions, but with knowledge and technology. There is no sense at all making people poorer In addition to the growth oriented issues Discussed here in Davos. This year refugee crisis is of course in the spotlight yesterday I spoke at a public seminar on the the theme from migration to integration With the message that jobs and education are of course crucial to succeed in this The major challenges that we face now can only be turned into opportunities if we face them together and if everyone all the member states for example in the European Union take its responsibility and shared responsibility has of natural reason been My key message this autumn when it comes to the refugee crisis It is obvious to me that the global community as a whole but also Europe needs to come together and handle this crisis it can be Cannot be that the responsibility lies in just a few countries Sweden is by far if we count per capita the country the European country that receives the largest number of refugees But the last fall we found ourselves In a situation where it was unsustainable and we had to take action To reduce the number of asylum applications and now we are of course struggling with the major tasks Seen from three different perspectives We need to globally prevent people from being forced to to become refugees and Doing so we need to focus on ending conflicts and fighting the root Causes of involuntary migration The second perspective is that we need to improve and reform the European Refugee policy towards a system that shares the responsibility for receiving refugees more even throughout Europe and The last perspective is of course that we need to make sure that the asylum seekers Who have come to our country and who have the right to stay in Sweden can find a job and feel at home in our society Thank you. Thank you prime minister over to you minister Thank you Yes, ladies and gentlemen, of course, it's also very interesting for me as As minister of justice and migration to be here these days To be able to follow the the discussions and that also the seven hours this year a migration is One of the main topics of this meeting and as the prime minister said Sweden is the country in Europe that received most asylum seekers per capita last last year by far Last year we had 160,000 people applying for asylum in Sweden and that is not only the highest number ever It is also the highest number per capita by far in Europe And it's also double as much as the previous record, which was in 1992 when we after the Balkan war received 80,000 asylum seekers, so now 2015 160,000 Mostly of course from Syria from Afghanistan and also from Iraq Now we are in Sweden focusing on to give these people a good start in Sweden building houses Investing in education both for the for the children and for the adults and Opening up our labor market for all these people who are now now Has come to Sweden Fortunately, I can say that the Swedish economy is is doing quite well right now We have a growth rate at almost 4% we have decreasing unemployment and of course that gives us right now a quite good Conditions to to be able to integrate these people But so I'm quite sure that we will be able to manage the task However, as the prime minister says said we cannot keep on receiving so so many people There is a limit for us too Therefore we've had to take those measures to bring down the numbers this year and we think that now other European countries Must do their share Europe as a continent cannot hide from the world When we see Humanitarian crisis going on globally then we have to to be to do what we can to help Solidarity is a core of is in the core of the European values And I think that we must stress that we must as Europeans face this challenge as a union And not as individual member states. Thank you Thank You minister Jonsson We will now open the floor for questions if you could give me a sign of hands So I get a sense of where we we have two gentlemen in the front row here If you could state your name and organization for the sake of our online audience as well. Thank you Kim home guard from USA today prime minister, can you tell us how confident you are that? EU countries will be taking this shared responsibility for the refugees that everyone seems to talk about Well so far that has been the problem, so I'm not naive, but at the same time. I'm when we discuss this My argument to us the countries that say they they do not want to receive refugees is that if we cannot handle this as A European Union the European Union in itself is at risk We need to handle it is European issue. We're a continent of 500 million more people Of course, we can handle it together But if we cannot do that what we see now risking the Schengen and other risks. Well, you will be weak and Dramatically so I think that for me is one of the strongest argument that we need to take This responsibility Responsibility to together although I'm not naive. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy But that is the way to go Yes Hello, I'm about to from North I'm with the NRC from the Netherlands. I have a question for the prime minister as well especially after the remarks by Wolfgang Schoibler earlier today about an investment program for The countries of origin. I wonder what your view is on such a plan Yes, we we we need to work on with all the three perspectives that I mentioned We need of course to to the European Union as a whole to cooperate with the Syria and the countries surrounding And not only and then Turkey we tried to cooperate with Turkey, but also Lebanon Jordan Because of course in the first place it's it's it's better if people don't have to make this difficult and Dangerous journey if we can support that but at the same time we know that will not End up a result in zero refugees. That won't happen So we'll still have refugees of course coming to to Europe and that so it still takes a Common responsibility a common solution we need to find a new solution, but but yes It's important to to cooperate financially also with the countries. Yes Thank you. Yes. Hi. Good enough on house. Let's get out. I have three questions The first one is when Sweden introduced the ID controls recently They were talks about that this would lead to a domino effect in Europe and this is exactly what has happened We see in Denmark. We've seen Austria. We have seen Germany also making signs Do you recognize that you have a responsibility in this domino effect actually happening? And where is it leading to my second question is are you disappointed that? The talk about hot spots in Europe to deal with the refugees is an idea that is not or a promise That is not being realized And my third question is do you think the perception of Sweden as a socially and morally irresponsible country towards where refugees Is now changing? Thank you. Thank you. So question about the domino effect the promise I can also ask the the the minister to answer but but I let me begin Now it's odd Sweden as The the minister just said we've taken by far the largest number of asylum seekers and all of a sudden we are Accused of not showing responsibility The the the mistake here is the fault is that other countries did not take their responsibility And that is why we end up in this situation We need to take we have taken the the measures that are necessary and And to answer your third question combined with that is I don't I cannot see Anyone that can that cannot acknowledge Sweden's Sweden's ambitions the responsibility we have taken for for refugees And to be honest, I haven't met anyone Of the European leaders who said how can you do this? on the contrary We are commanded all the time for what we've done. So I Think that is important to say When it comes to two hot spots If sorry, can you Yeah, yeah, I know what yeah Yes, no, no that of course we're disappointed it should much more should have happened much earlier And that is something that we have also discussed in the in the council, of course that we are Disappointed and we raise the issue all the time what is happening there are I believe that perhaps the minister knows better There are two or three that are Functioning working right now, but but far from from the number that we wanted to work But please minister As first on the domino effect, of course, I mean the border controls in Germany They were put they were they were established long before The only thing that has happened is that we have border controls in Denmark now But Denmark bit the border between Germany and Denmark, but Denmark doesn't That doesn't mean that they say no to any asylum seekers on the contrary I mean if the people come to Denmark, they will apply for asylum there So I mean the concept of this domino effect that should be that should be released by Sweden I think that's the argument is quite weak on the on the other side as the prime minister said Well, I meet a very large understanding with my among my colleagues because they know what we have done We have done more than any other country and we've been done more than Sweden has done since the second world war in Matters of taking care of people fleeing from from war just the couple just the last four months September October November December there arrived a hundred and fourteen thousand people to Sweden 26,000 unaccompanied children. That's 1,000 school classes arriving to Sweden in four months And of course when you see that you then you understand that This cannot go on you have to do things you have to take focus now on taking care of the people who have come And you cannot do that on the same time if we still have a pace of seven eight nine thousand people coming in then other countries must do their share and That is that's what what we have to to have the system for so that other countries are doing that I think it is in a way a tragedy that We know that Europe as a continent could easily handle this task For a million A million other half or two million a year to Europe We are a continent of five hundred million people We could easily handle this task if we cooperated if we met this as a union and not as individual member states That is what we have to what Sweden has been pushing for from the from the start and we will continue to do that But now we also must focus on solving this very very large task that we have getting 160,000 people Houses to live in Jobs education and that is a very very large task for us. Thank you. Let's get the last two questions from Alexandra and Noah Alexandra Födel Schmidt from the Austrian daily the standard The Austrian government yesterday announced the quota system to reduce the number of asylum seekers Do you have similar plans for Sweden? Yeah Well, if I understand your question right where is You're talking about having a kind of ceiling for how many no, we are not we have not discussed the that kind of of Solutions there is a problem with that and that is what do you do when you've reached the ceiling? I mean we are all as nations bound by the by the Geneva Conventions and Saying that if there are people coming to our country and applying for asylum, we should try their application So it's not not very easy to to go down that path sorry Of course, I agree now that has been my argument all the time because I've had this question so many times How many refugees can Sweden take and I exactly the same argument as the minister said But I'm not sure really Also, I hear also the someone talking about it as guidelines So I'm not really sure what it means in detail but we have taken our measures now and now let's see how they work and But it isn't it was important for us To to take some decisions in order to decrease the number of asylum seekers Thank you I'm swimming down from Danish television. There's been quite some Misunderstandings between Denmark and Sweden apparently the last few months What do you expect from the Danish government at the moment and do you think that the Danish government is doing enough to cooperate you? And can I finally ask you what is the consequences of the? strained attitude between those two countries who used to be very close to each other well first I Wouldn't exaggerate We're in the same In the same reposition. I have a very good relationship with the with the Danish Prime Minister We we phone one another we send text messages and we of course we meet in the European Council so I wouldn't exaggerate that there's a huge problem between our countries and now What I I'm not going to say what I expect from the Danish government only what we need what we are expected to do together we have a problem to solve and One of the perspectives that we are advocating is of course once again. This is a EU 28 member states issue So but then again more concrete in our measures between our countries. I think the minister is better Well, and I have the exactly the same the same Feeling about about this as the prime minister. I mean we have very close Connections to the to the Danish government Actually, we are contact yesterday with a in a stubborn story, but I'm going to to Copenhagen on February the second to discuss more about our relations and how we can improve the integration again in the in the also in the Copenhagen that's gone a region Because of course we've seen the difficulties there It wasn't that there wasn't a chaos Well, that's some some people said there was going to be chaos on Castro when we introduced that he controls on the contrary It has gone quite smooth and that's much. Thanks to actually the Danish Railroad company DSP that has I think worked very constructively together with with us on the Swedish side to solve all the practical issues doing that the Christmas and New Year's Period of when we had to introduce when we introduced them So we have close connection. We have a dialogue all the time and I feel quite comfortable that we will keep on having I know a barking from Reuters the Prime Minister How much time do you think Europe has to get a grip on this crisis the Dutch Prime Minister mentioned in a panel earlier this earlier today that He thought Europe had six to eight weeks to get a grip and I assume that means Getting countries who are now refusing to take on refugees to agree to do that So first of all a question on the timing second of all what pressure can be brought to bear if any on those EU countries that are refusing to Take quotas of refugees Thank you Well first time yeah, I think it is around that in that ballpark as you said the six to eight weeks We know that Probably when spring comes we will the number of refugees will will increase again and The prediction from the UNHCR was quite dramatic what we heard I believe last week or the week before So we we have to to follow this very closely and that is also why it's so important to to keep on the cooperation with Turkey and Other countries of course Lebanon and Jordan as well So so we have to work very intensely with with that Measures for countries. Well, it's it's too too easy to say I think we need to first now make make sure that we The Dublin treaty is is respected, but also at the same time start the discussion on what would the future System be how can we really make this work? I know the countries that Are rejecting a quota for example They are referring to their Integrity independent that they themselves need to make these decisions and I can respect that argument But at the same time we need to find a solution Where everybody takes the responsibility and then the are the question is how do you balance that? the single countries individual countries Integrity and decision-making on one hand on the other hand we need to have the shared responsibilities So I think it's more important to to put resources and time on discussing that solutions Thank you, mr. Prime Minister. Thank you minister Jonsson. I'm afraid we have to close the press conference at this point As we're already running over. Thank you all for watching. Thank you for joining and thank you Thank you Ah Yes, yes