Swedish PM 2,5% GDP defense spending goal 'too little'

Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/eudebates In a meeting hosted by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Saariselkä, Lapland on 21–22 December, a group of EU leaders held extensive discussions on Europe’s security challenges. The North-South Summit brought together perspectives from northern and southern Europe, especially with regard to security and migration.

The leaders stressed the importance of strengthening European defence in order to counter the threat from Russia. The discussion continued on from the one started at the December European Council in Brussels. In Saariselkä, the leaders also discussed funding for European defence.

Swedish Prime Minster Ulf Kristersson said a 2.5 percent spending goal for Joint Expeditionary Force members, including Estonia, would not be effective as most members already spend more.

At the JEF summit ministers' doorstep meeting on Tuesday morning in Tallinn, Kristersson suggested a goal put forward by Estonia for the 10 members is too small.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) wanted countries to agree to allocate 2.5 percent of their GDP to defense spending ahead of the NATO summit next year. This is above the current 2 percent target.

Asked by reporters if JEF nations should do so, Kristersson said 2 percent is a "floor" not a ceiling, adding: "We don't have a joint figure, I would say 2.5 would, honestly, be too little to have as a figure, since all of us are exceeding that or on our way."

The prime minister said Sweden's defense spending is 2.4 percent of GDP in 2024, rising to 2.6 percent in the coming years.

Asked by ERR News later in the day if the government is aiming to hit 3 percent – as suggested for all NATO countries by Secretary General Mark Rutte – he said: "No, we don't have a new goal.

"It [the 2 percent target] was a decision [taken] a long time ago and the least you can expect is every country to live up to that in these kind of difficult times. And very many countries do that already and have targets that go further and we are among those. To simply have a goal for 2.5 there would be no real point, basically."

The prime minister said Sweden does not see any reason to stop raising defense spending.

"We are very much impressed by the Baltic countries that are above 3 percent, Poland above 4 percent. So not for happy reasons, but for necessary reasons. We are firmly committed to continuing to strengthen our national defense," he said.

Wind farms: Business cannot be prioritized over defense

Security and location should be the deciding factor when assessing windfarms in the Baltic Sea, Kristersson said after his government scrapped 13 developments earlier this year.

The decision has also been noted by Estonia where officials initially said there were no problems, only for the Defense Forces to later publicly state there are security concerns.

Asked by ERR News if all the countries in the Baltic Sea region should be looking at their developments in this light, he said: "[It] very much depends on the security situation and the geographical preconditions, I would say."

He said, in Sweden's case, it was "almost self-evident" as the windfarms were placed close to critical surveillance. He said this "will simply not do." Adding: "And I think we have a very, very solid documentation for making that decision."

The prime minister said he was more "surprised" that several of the plans had already been green-lit. "[This] is the really big news rather than stopping another 13," he added.

He said business could not be prioritized over defense: "Of course not. That's kind of self-evident. /.../ The fact that we prioritize security arrangements in this part of Sweden, that couldn't surprise anybody."

However, he said it is not "illegitimate" for companies to want to build these developments. But rather than companies spending a lot of time and money on applications only to be denied, the process needs to be changed.

"Instead of doing that, we reverse it, so that we think these, this, here and here are good places for potential exploitation, also for wind farms, so I think that's a better way," the prime minister said.

Asked if existing infrastructure is under risk, Kristersson: "Not as far as I know, no."

No Swedish troops expected in Estonia

Sweden joined NATO earlier this year and plans to deploy 600 soldiers to Latvia in early 2025.

It is unlikely that Swedish troops will be stationed in Estonia under NATO any time soon.

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