The Government has presented the Budget Bill to the Riksdag. The political parties and members of the Riksdag have presented their counter-proposals during the general period for the introduction of private members' motions. Now it is time for the parliamentary committees to consider the proposals before the Chamber takes a final decision on the central government budget. This is done in two stages: first it takes a decision on the total budget, and next it determines the details of the budget.
The Riksdag uses a special decision-making procedure known as the framework model when considering the Budget Bill and counter-proposals. This means that the Riksdag first takes a decision on the overall size of the budget and how much to allocate to each of the 27 expenditure areas.
By means of this decision, expenditure is fixed and the level determined for each expenditure area thereafter functions as a limit which may not be exceeded in the autumn when the Riksdag decides how the money is to be allocated within each expenditure area.
In this decision, the Riksdag also decides the taxes and charges that are to be implemented. This enables the level of central government revenue for the following budget year to be estimated. Once the levels of revenue and expenditure have been determined, the level of borrowing requirements can also be calculated.
The exact level of revenues from tax is difficult to determine since these are linked to the development of the economy, which is not always easy to predict. For this reason, the Riksdag approves an estimate in the case of central government revenue, rather than determining a framework.
All expenditure limits and tax changes are treated as a single "package", and alternatives from the opposition parties are also presented as single "packages".
This means that the opposition parties cannot form a majority on a single issue in the budget and use this to reject a proposal, they must agree on a whole package of proposals.
All proposals to the Riksdag must be considered by one of the 15 parliamentary committees before the members of the Riksdag take a decision in the Chamber. When the committees prepare the decision concerning ceilings for the 27 expenditure areas, the Committee on finance plays a central role.
The other parliamentary committees are responsible for specific expenditure areas. They then submit their views on the Government's and opposition parties' proposed ceilings to the Committee on Finance. These views are known as statements of opinion.
The committees can also propose that an expenditure area receive more or less money or that money be distributed differently between the different expenditure areas. The committees' proposals can also affect the size of central government revenue.
Once all the committees have submitted their proposals, the Committee on Finance examines these proposals and uses them as a basis for submitting an overall proposal on ceilings for the central government budget and the expenditure areas. This proposal is presented in the form of a committee report.
The members of the Riksdag debate and take a decision on this proposal around 20 November. With its decision, the Riksdag determines:
There then remains the task of determining the allocation of expenditure within each expenditure area. This is dealt with in the second stage of the budget process.
In the second stage of the budget process, the various parliamentary committees consider the Government's and opposition parties' proposals as to how the money is to be allocated within each expenditure area.
A separate report is compiled for each expenditure area. An expenditure area cannot, in other words, be split up between a number of committees or be the subject of different decisions.
The committees can set different priorities to those presented by the Government and can redistribute money between different appropriations in an expenditure area, but they cannot forward any proposals that would lead to ceilings determined in stage I of the budget process being exceeded.
If a committee wishes to take an initiative of its own, or act on a private member's motion, the financial effects must be taken into account. Any increases must be financed by an equivalent reduction elsewhere. Members of a committee whose opinion differs from that of the majority cannot submit counter-proposals involving an increase in the expenditure ceilings already determined by the Riksdag.
A committee may decide that more money is needed in a particular expenditure area, and that the ceiling needs to be increased. The situation may, for example, have changed since the expenditure ceiling was determined.
In a situation such as this, the Committee on Finance can examine whether the Riksdag can reduce a ceiling in another area. The Committee on Finance and the Riksdag also decide how proposed increases in expenditure are to be financed.
The parliamentary committees complete their proposals regarding the allocation of money between appropriations in the 27 expenditure areas at the beginning of December. The Chamber of the Riksdag then debates and decides on the proposals during December. Once all the decisions have been taken, the Riksdag compiles the finalised central government budget for the coming year and hands it over to the Government a few days before Christmas.