The Swedish Competition Authority (Swedish : Konkurrensverket, abbreviated KKV) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Enterprise tasked to promote and safeguard competition in the private and public sector, to the benefit of all consumers and market participants. The agency ensures that contracting authorities comply with public procurement rules, propose legislative changes to improve competition, disseminates information about the rules that apply, and provides grants for research on competition and procurement. [1] [2]
The agency was founded in 1992, when it replaced the National Price and Competition Board (Swedish : Statens pris- och konkurrensverk) and Office of the Competition Ombudsman (Swedish : Näringsfrihetsombudsmannen).
In 2007 the Board for Public Procurement (Swedish : Nämnden för offentlig upphandling) was dissolved, and its operations – oversight on public procurement – were taken over by the Swedish Competition Authority. [3] [4]
The agency is based in Stockholm, and is led by director-general Dan Sjöblom. It is organised in into six departments and eight units. [5]
The government agencies in Sweden are state-controlled organizations that act independently to carry out the policies of the Government of Sweden. The ministries are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, allowed to monitor the agencies and preparing decision and policy papers for the government as a collective body to decide upon.
The Swedish Security Service is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice. It operates as a security agency responsible for counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, as well as the protection of dignitaries and the constitution. The Swedish Security Service is also tasked with investigating crimes against national security and terrorist crimes. Its main mission, however, is to prevent crimes, not to investigate them. Crime prevention is to a large extent based on information acquired via contacts with the regular police force, other authorities and organisations, foreign intelligence and security services, and with the use of various intelligence gathering activities, including interrogations, telephone tapping, covert listening devices, and hidden surveillance cameras.
The Chief of Defence, formerly the Supreme Commander is the highest ranked professional military officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, and is by NATO terminology the Swedish chief of defence equivalent. The Chief of Defence is the agency head of the Swedish Armed Forces and formally reports to the Government of Sweden, though normally through the Minister for Defence. The primary responsibilities and duties of the Chief of Defence are prescribed in an ordinance issued by the Government.
The National Defence Radio Establishment is a Swedish government agency organised under the Ministry of Defence. The two main tasks of FRA are signals intelligence (SIGINT), and support to government authorities and state-owned companies regarding computer security.
Law enforcement in Sweden is carried out by several government agencies, under the guidance of the Government of Sweden.
Government procurement or public procurement is when a governing body purchases goods, works, and services from an organization for themselves or the taxpayers. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of GDP in OECD countries. In 2021 the World Bank Group estimated that public procurement made up about 15% of global GDP. Therefore, government procurement accounts for a substantial part of the global economy.
The Ministry for Rural Affairs, known between 1900 and 2010 as the Ministry of Agriculture, was a ministry within the government of Sweden. The ministry was responsible for matters relating to rural areas, food and land- and water-based industries, regional development, transport and infrastructure, housing, and community planning. The ministry was headed by the minister for rural affairs (2011–2014) and the minister of agriculture (1900–2010). The ministry was disbanded on 31 December 2014, and from 1 January 2015, the matters was handled by the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation.
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs is a ministry in the Government of Sweden responsible for policies related to social welfare: social security, social services, medical and health care, public health and the rights of children, the elderly and disabled people.
The Ministry of Climate and Enterprise is a ministry in the Government of Sweden responsible for policies related to the climate, the natural environment, energy, enterprise, innovation, radiation safety, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, outdoor life and circular economy.
The Ministry of Employment is a ministry in the Swedish government responsible for labour market, labour law and the work environment. The Ministry is also responsible for the work of advancing gender equality and human rights at national level. Moreover, the Ministry is responsible for efforts to increase integration, combat segregation, racism and discrimination, and strengthen the rights of children and LGBT people.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency is a Swedish administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for issues concerning civil protection, public safety, emergency management and civil defence. Responsibility refers to measures taken before, during and after an emergency or crisis. MSB work in close cooperation with the municipalities, the county councils, other authorities, organisations and the private sector to achieve increased safety and security at all levels of society. This is done through education, support, training exercises, regulation and supervision.
Senate Properties is a Finnish unincorporated state-owned enterprise, which manages a major part of the real estate assets owned by the Republic of Finland.
All European countries show eGovernment initiatives, mainly related to the improvement of governance at the national level. Significant eGovernment activities also take place at the European Commission level as well. There is an extensive list of eGovernment Fact Sheets maintained by the European Commission.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMK) is the supreme competition regulator in Ukraine. It is a state authority with special status, aimed at providing the state protection to competition in the field of entrepreneurial activity.
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority.
Corruption in Sweden has been defined as "the abuse of power" by Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). By receiving bribes, bribe takers abuse their position of power, which is consistent with how the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the Swedish Prosecution Authority specifies the term. Although bribes and improper rewards are central in the definition of corruption in Sweden, corruption in the sense of "abuse of power" can also manifest itself in other crimes such as misuse of office, embezzlement, fraud and breach of trust against a principal.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden is a Swedish government agency with national responsibility for public health. It falls under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and works to promote public health and to prevent illness and injuries through education. It monitors the health of the population, infectious disease control measures, and public health interventions, and assists the Government in its decision-making process by providing facts and knowledge. The agency is tasked with minimizing negative environmental impact on human health, and participates in the work of the EU and international public health organisations, such as the WHO and IANPHI.
The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority is a Swedish administrative authority organized under the Ministry of Culture. The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority decides on permits, fees and registration for terrestrial television, community and commercial radio; and monitor radio and television programme services, on-demand services and teletext, to verify that the content of radio and television programmes adhere to broadcasting regulations. The Swedish Broadcasting Commission, a decision-making body within the authority, investigate if the content adheres to regulations, after complaints lodged by viewers and listeners, or at the initiative of the Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority. Additional tasks include verifying that cable companies and IPTV providers retransmit SVT, and that the broadcasting companies are licensed and managed in accordance with Swedish legislation.
The Swedish Police Authority is the national police force (Polisen) of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under local government control up until 1965, when it was nationalized and became increasingly centralized, to finally organize under one authority January 1, 2015. Concurrent with this change, the Swedish Security Service formed its own agency. The new authority was created to address shortcomings in the division of duties and responsibilities, and to make it easier for the Government to demand greater accountability. The agency is organized into seven police regions and eight national departments. It is one of the largest government agencies in Sweden, with more than 28,500 employees, of which police officers accounted for approximately 75 percent of the personnel in 2014. It takes two and a half years to become a police officer in Sweden, including six months of paid workplace practice. Approximately a third of all police students are women, and in 2011 women accounted for 40 percent of all employees.
Sweden's unique response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the subject of significant controversy in both domestic and international circles. Unlike most countries, which strongly recommended or introduced widespread sector closures, quarantining, and lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019, the government of Sweden took a more lenient approach to the pandemic, prioritizing the economy and only pursuing social distancing measures such as bans on large gatherings and limited travel restrictions.