Utrikespolitiken och den kommunala kompetensen

Sammanfattning

In Swedish law, municipalities do not have competence to act in matters which are the responsibility of the state. One such responsibility is foreign policy. In this essay I have examined the consequences of this limitation for the extent of municipal competence. To this end I have studied the meaning of the concept of foreign policy in Swedish law, and how municipal competence is limited by the prohibition on municipal foreign policy action. The study has been carried out using the legal-dogmatic method. The Instrument of Government (regeringsformen, IG) establishes that the government is responsible for foreign policy. Determining what exactly constitutes foreign policy is difficult, but certain examples can be given. Accord-ing to the preparatory works of the IG, matters of foreign policy are those that impact Sweden’s international relations. Furthermore, my examination shows that the obligation for governmental authorities to provide information in foreign policy matters has been applied in many different cases. Therefore I conclude that what constitutes foreign policy must be decided on a case-to-case basis based on impact on Sweden’s international relations. In case law and preparatory works, the relationship between municipal com-petence and foreign policy has mostly been discussed in relation to certain specific kinds of municipal action. For example, international boycotts and statements of opinion pertaining to foreign policy have been regarded as overstepping the general municipal competence while twin-town cooperation has been allowed. Additionally, specialised legislation, international agreements, and EU-law grant municipalities some ability to act internationally. This includes some forms of foreign aid and cross-border cooperation. Despite the unclear nature of the law, I have been able to draw some general conclusions. The ability of municipalities to act internationally without it being considered foreign policy is generally greatly limited. Even so, municipal positions which differ from the government’s or which pertain to controversial topics run a greater risk of being considered foreign policy. If an activity has a clear municipal character that risk is instead lowered.