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Sweden says it will increase its defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, and will be the latest European country to propose a sharp rise as it cites uncertainty over Russian wars and US commitments in Ukraine.
The increase from the current 2.4%, funded primarily by borrowing, was set by central right prime minister Wolf Christerson on Wednesday, agreed to four political parties supporting his government.
“This is the biggest maintenance of Swedish defense since the Cold War era,” Christerson told reporters.
European countries are competing to increase military spending under the twin threat of Russian invasion, and US President Donald Trump warns that they need to bear more burdens for their own defense.
Frontline NATO states such as Estonia, Lithuania and Poland are all targeting 5% of GDP for defense from next year, along with Trump’s most offensive targets.
Many diplomats believe the NATO summit in The Hague this summer is likely to raise the military alliance target from the current 2% to around 3.5%.
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Kristersson said Sweden’s current spending levels are “not enough.”
He added: “Our assessment is that NATO, particularly the European countries of NATO, must take a major step in the coming years.
Sweden has long been proud to have not fought wars for over 200 years. Until recently, there was also a neutral stance. However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to a complete shift in both public opinion and political thinking, and Sweden joined NATO as the 32nd member of the Defense Alliance last year.
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The Scandinavian country has already increased defensive spending significantly after decades of lack of investment through “peace dividends” and has reorganized the important Baltic Island of Gotland.
The diplomat says Sweden’s role in the new NATO defense programme for Scandinavia and Baltics is to act primarily as a logistics zone to support the frontlines elsewhere.
However, Sweden and its leading defense contractor, Saab, is dominated by industrialists in the Wallenburg family, has long experience in areas such as fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and anti-submarine warfare. Also, as part of the NATO operation, they are sending troops to Poland on Latvia and Gripen Fighter Jets.
Kristersson said Sweden will borrow about $300 billion ($3 billion) to borrow $300 billion ($3 billion) by 2035 in a deal approved by his coalition and three nationalist Swedish Democrats. Sweden has one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in Europe, so it is given enough headroom to borrow more.
