2024-03-13 06:06:59
Less than a week following joining NATO, the (liberal) Center Party asked Sweden to increase its defense budget from 2% of GDP – what NATO recommends – to 3%.
Less than a week following Sweden officially joined the organization, and just one day following the flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters, voices are being raised in Stockholm to demand an increase in the country’s military spending .
The opposition Center Party (Renew Europe) believes that Sweden should set a target of a defense budget equivalent to 3% of its GDP, rather than the 2% of GDP planned for member countries of the NATO.
Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Wales Summit Declaration set a target for NATO member states to “get closer to the guideline of 2% (of GDP)” by 2024, although this rule has not been made binding.
“We want to increase Swedish defense funding to 3% of GDP by 2030 and invest a total of 100 billion Swedish crowns (9.7 billion euros) in civil defense during the same period”the party said in a message published on X on Tuesday (March 12).
“Now is the time for the government to step up and be honest that it will take hard work and a lot of money.”added Muharrem Demirok, leader of the Center Party.
The Center Party is not the only one wanting to increase the country’s defense budget: the other parties in the government coalition are also in favor.
According to the Liberals, the 2% guideline is ” reasonable “but, given the context, defense spending must be even higher in the short and medium term.
The Christian Democrats are also pushing for increased investment in defense: last winter the party said that in the long term it wanted the creation of five military brigades and an additional fleet of surface ships for Swedish Navy. Currently, only four military brigades are planned.
The far-right Sweden Democrats, who support the current coalition, want to increase the defense budget to 2.5% of GDP and enshrine the 2% guideline in the Swedish Constitution.
Even Defense Minister Pål Jonson of the centrist Rally Party (EPP) recently said he believes defense spending should reach 2.5% of GDP.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, however, urged everyone to keep a cool head, as he did not want to promise the Swedish armed forces more funds than the increases already planned for the coming years.
“Everyone will want more of everything and I understand that”Kristersson said on Tuesday, adding that Sweden would stick to its plan until it needed to be changed.
The Swedish Parliament’s Defense Committee is currently debating what form Sweden’s defense will take following NATO membership and will publish a report in April. At the end of the year, the Swedish parliament will also decide how the Swedish defense system should evolve and adapt over the next five years.
By the end of 2023, only 11 of NATO’s 31 members had met the 2% commitment, although NATO’s secretary general said in February that seven more countries would reach the mark by 2024.
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