While harmonising EU regulations with Swedish legislation, coordinated efforts across various policy areas and sectors are essential for Sweden's ongoing digitalisation. The Swedish Public Employment Service and Jobtech have long been active in collaborative meetings like the Intergovernmental Agency Collaboration for Skills Supply and Lifelong Learning, eSam, OpSam, and TakSam. National perspectives in light of the EU's digital policies have been discussed, including interoperability, data spaces, and AI, among others.
Recently, the AI Act, the most discussed regulation in the digital field, has come into effect. However, it has been criticized for being adopted under time pressure, leading to vague legislation. This will likely require additional secondary legislation and significant investment in AI governance systems. While it is already known that AI will impact the labour market, its full extent remains unclear. What is clear is that integrating ethical perspectives into the regulations and ensuring their quality and reliability will require both courage and critical thinking. Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl from DIGITALEUROPE pointed out that poorly designed regulations could hinder Europe's digital competitiveness and lead to increased compliance costs for EU businesses.
"We will be hiring lawyers, while the rest of the world is hiring developers", she said, as quoted by the Financial Times.
In this area, Sweden ranks 17th in the Global AI Index, which compares AI development in 62 countries in terms of investments, innovation, and AI adoption, according to a recent report from the organization Tech Sweden. Sweden is lagging behind to peer countries such as Switzerland (9th), Finland (10th), the Netherlands (11th), and Denmark (16th). The highest-ranked European country is the United Kingdom (outside the EU), which is in fourth place after the USA, China, and Singapore.
According to the latest Sweden 2024 Digital Decade Country Report, the country performs well in areas such as connectivity infrastructure and the number of unicorn companies, driven by a favorable business climate. However, there are key areas that need improvement, including e-health, the adoption of AI and data analytics by businesses, and e-identification (e-ID). Notably, Sweden has already made progress in e-ID, particularly with the new supplementary amendments to the revised eIDAS Regulation that took effect on May 20th, 2024. A major development is the requirement for EU member states to ensure that all individuals and entities within the EU have access to a European digital identity wallet.
The Interoperable Europe Act, which aims at better connected public services across the EU, took effect on April 11th, 2024. This Act sets up a framework for interoperability governance and applies to public authorities, including EU institutions and bodies. In Sweden, a significant long-term reform is underway to enhance data sharing. A recent government inquiry has assessed the country's readiness and needs for data sharing in the context of this new legislation. The inquiry underscores the need for sector-specific regulations to improve data sharing and recommends further investigation in this area. In this field, the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) has an opportunity to contribute by enhancing its initiatives to support both occupational and geographical mobility, in accordance with its regulatory letter.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act was adopted in June 2024 and came into effect on August 1st, 2024. Its objective is to improve the functioning of the internal market by establishing a coherent legal framework for the development, market placement, deployment, and use of AI systems within the EU, in line with the Union's values, laws and principles. The Regulatory Framework defines 4 levels of risk for AI systems based on their potential societal impact. Among them, high-risk systems will be subject to strict regulations before they are allowed to enter the EU market. The regulation will be implemented in stages: governance rules and the obligations for general-purpose AI models will apply after 12 months (in May 2025), most rules coming into force after 24 months, and requirements for high-risk systems will be enforced after 36 months. A national supervisory authority is expected to be established within one year.
The Data Governance Act (DGA) came into effect in September 2023 and is directly applicable in all Member States, including Sweden from August 2nd, 2024. The Act establishes mechanisms for the public sector to make data available and facilitate data sharing, extending beyond the Open Data Directive. It also covers datasets that are restricted due to confidentiality regulations. All public authorities and entities are subject to the regulation. In Sweden, the implementation of the DGA is proposed through a new law, which will include specific regulations for protected data and amendments to the Swedish Law (2022:818) on the accessibility and sharing of public sector data.
Both open data and open-source software are crucial for the development of more efficient public services, promoting interoperability solutions, and creating seamless services across the EU. The Interoperable Europe Act and the AI Act emphasize their importance given the fact that objective criteria such as functionality, cost, and cybersecurity are met. The AI Act highlights open general-purpose AI models, and free and open-source AI components to foster research and innovation and to provide significant growth opportunities for the Union’s economy.
AI, linking datasets, and interoperability can promote increased occupational and geographic mobility, while improving efficiency of public services in Sweden, particularly in the labour market. Arbetsförmedlingen is making significant progress in taxonomy, open data, and open-source initiatives. The Jobtech Unit has explored opportunities to connect different dataspaces, leading to the development of the JobEd Connect API. Ongoing efforts in this area are essential for leveraging the potential of data more effectively.
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The Swedish Public Employment Service, through the JobTech Development platform, has long been developing capabilities and expertise to strengthen the Swedish labour market using data-driven methods and utilizing the potential of data. Implementing EU regulations will necessitate continuous monitoring, harmonization, and critical thinking. Skills gained from pilot projects and government assignments will support both regulatory and operational improvements, addressing broader perspectives beyond the labour market. This is vital for developing the digital infrastructure needed for better matching services and a more efficient labour market in Sweden.