The Swedish parliament agreed to send an army battalion to Latvia in 2025, as well as the participation of the navy and air force in patrol missions as part of NATO's deterrence and defense policy.
Parliament approved “making the Swedish armed forces available until December 31, 2025 to contribute to NATO's collective deterrence and defense in the North Atlantic area.” The participation of a maximum of 1,200 soldiers (ground troops, special units and landing forces), six warships with crews and 24 Gripen fighters with personnel was agreed to participate.
Swedish army in the city of MotalaJeppe Gustafsson / Shutterstock.com
The purpose of collective deterrence and defense
The government had previously announced the sending of… Latvia a reduced battalion (600 soldiers), which is to reinforce the international contingent stationed there NATO commanded by Canadians. Parliament accepted the higher framework to avoid having to agree from the house to increase the number of troops if necessary.
All parties in parliament voted in favor, with only MPs from the opposition Left Party voting against. This group, along with the Greens, opposed entry Sweden to NATO.
The head of Swedish diplomacy, Maria Malmer Stenergard, listed deterrence and defense within NATO among the four foreign policy priorities presented on Wednesday at the Institute of International Relations in Stockholm. The remaining three are: cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic countries and Poland, activities to respect international law, and defense of free trade.
Main photo source: Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images