Jimmie Åkesson: ‘I would like to spend exactly zero kronor on integration’

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson says he would like to spend “exactly zero kronor” on integration, arguing that adapting to Swedish society is an individual responsibility rather than a funding question.

“I would like to spend exactly zero kronor on integration,” Åkesson said in Tuesday’s P1 Morgon party-leader interview. “It is not a money question; it is a question of individual responsibility to adapt to society or not.” The same exchange was independently reported by Expressen.

The statement is a political position, not a change to Sweden’s current budget. Åkesson did not identify which national or municipal programmes he would remove or explain how a zero figure would be calculated.

Sweden’s enacted 2026 budget includes SEK 101.8 million for “integration measures” and SEK 4.39 billion in municipal reimbursements for refugee reception. Those lines sit within a wider SEK 5.87 billion expenditure area that also covers gender equality, discrimination and social exclusion.

SD’s current 2026 platform calls for requirement-based integration policy but does not set out a zero-krona funding plan. No current service or entitlement changes because of the interview alone. The unresolved question is whether SD later defines “zero” as ending particular programmes, moving costs elsewhere or rejecting integration as a state responsibility.

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