Stockholm Ulf Kristersson could no longer hide his relief. “Today was a very good day for Sweden,” said the Swedish Prime Minister, visibly satisfied, in Vilnius, Lithuania. The past few weeks have not always been easy for his centre-right government. Ever new demands from Turkey have made some politicians in the far north doubt that Sweden can still become a member of NATO at all.
But in the run-up to the NATO summit beginning on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the go-ahead for the Scandinavian country to join after some back and forth. After more than 200 years of neutrality, Sweden is now about to take a historic step into the western defense alliance.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February last year, there was a radical shift in opinion in Finland and Sweden. The hitherto taboo subject of NATO was suddenly openly discussed. The war in Ukraine radically changed the previously strict security policy doctrine in both countries almost overnight.
In Finland in particular, which shares a more than 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, the then government under Sanna Marin pushed for accession. In April of this year, Finland was admitted to NATO as the 31st member.
Sweden had to stay out because the Turkish president accused the country of harboring terrorists, i.e. members of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. Several Koran burnings in front of mosques in Stockholm, among other places, exacerbated the conflict.
Sweden has strategically important “dowry”
Erdogan has now given up his resistance. Probably also because he received concessions from the USA and Sweden, such as the delivery of F-16 fighter jets. Even if the exact date of accession is not yet clear – in addition to Turkey, Hungary has yet to agree to Sweden’s accession – the relief in Sweden is great. Hungary wants to approve the accession protocols for the Nordic country. “Completing the ratification process is a purely technical matter,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday. However, a concrete commitment is still pending.
Stockholm’s defense budget is set to increase to two percent of gross domestic product by 2026. Most recently it was around 1.3 percent.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
The accession of the two northern European countries is a welcome reinforcement for NATO. Finland in particular would significantly strengthen NATO with 23,000 professional soldiers and 280,000 conscripts. The country also has more than 870,000 reservists. With around 20,000 soldiers, Sweden has significantly fewer active armed forces, but plans to increase troop levels by a further 20,000 by 2030. The defense budget is also set to increase to two percent of gross domestic product by 2026. Most recently it was around 1.3 percent.
An often underestimated “dowry” that Sweden brings to the defensive alliance is the “unsinkable aircraft carrier”. This is the humorous name for the largest island in the Baltic Sea, Gotland. It is only around 300 kilometers from the island to the Latvian capital Riga and only slightly further to Tallinn or Vilnius.
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The island is therefore of great strategic importance for the control of the Baltic Sea and an eventual defense of the Baltic countries. American military officials recently declared, “Who controls Gotland controls the Baltic Sea.” Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the military presence on Gotland has increased.
There shouldn’t be any major problems with integration
In addition, Sweden maintains one of the most modern submarine fleets in the world and, with the JAS 39-Gripen developed by the armaments company Saab, has a fleet of almost 100 examples of this multi-purpose fighter jet.
U-turn: Erdogan agrees to Sweden joining NATO
In addition, fast boats, which are difficult or impossible to detect by radar, are another specialty of the Swedish defense industry. In addition, Swedish companies developed air defense systems and rapid-fire weapons that are exported all over the world.
Centuries of non-alignment has meant that a relatively small country like Sweden has afforded its own defense industry. One did not want to become dependent on other countries.
However, there should not be any major problems with integration into the NATO structures. Sweden, like Finland, has a long history of participating in joint NATO maneuvers and participated in NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and the Balkans. The procurement of military equipment has also been coordinated with NATO for some time.
>> Read here: Erdogan apparently agrees to Sweden’s NATO membership and calls for EU membership
Finland has ordered 64 F-35 fighter jets from the American defense company Lockheed Martin for ten billion euros, while Sweden has bought US Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. So the NATO compatibility is guaranteed.
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