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In recent years there has been a broad political consensus that Sweden’s defense needs to be strengthened and improved. The background is a deteriorating security policy situation, especially in the immediate area.
Therefore, a year ago, parliamentary parties in the Defense Committee were able to agree on a proposal that would mean the biggest improvement in Sweden in several decades.
“Great differences of opinion”
In August, the government, together with the associated Centerpartiet parties and the Liberals, presented an agreement that means an increase in the funding levels of the Swedish Armed Forces by SEK 25 billion between 2021 and 2025. That would mean a level of Financing of SEK 84 billion in 2025.
But in mid-November last year, the Swedish Armed Forces and other defense authorities presented an analysis that showed that SEK 55 billion was missing to comply with the proposal of the Swedish Defense Committee. Large investments would be pushed into the future, while others ran the risk of freezing completely.
To try to clarify the uncertainties that have prevailed since then, parliamentary parties in the spring have held regular talks with Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist (S). In mid-March, the Defense Committee was again appointed to set foot on the issue.
The Defense Committee would be finished with its work by tomorrow, May 15. That’s not. The differences in opinion in preparation are so great that there are currently no conditions for an agreement. Therefore, the Government gives the Defense Committee two weeks to reach an agreement.
The question is whether this is sufficient. In the spring, economic holes in defense efforts have been found to be even larger than previously estimated. According to SVT sources, only a third of the planned upgrade will be possible unless more money is spent. A number of different factors are behind, among other things, that the credits have not been covered and that the Defense Forces have already mortgaged a significant part of the increase in credits.
The dispute in the Armed Forces is, therefore, whether more money will be spent on defense and, if so, how much.
“C and L try to exploit the situation”
A parliamentary majority made up of the moderates, the Christian Democrats, the Center Party, the Liberals and the Swedish Democrats wants a continued escalation of defense credits also after 2025 to fulfill the expansion that the Defense Committee agreed on last year. .
But Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist says no. He warns that in the current situation with the decreasing costs of the crown crisis, significant new defense spending will be incurred.
Therefore, the parties to the Defense Committee have been unable to reach an agreement. The position seems locked. Furthermore, given how far the parties seem to be, it is doubtful that two weeks of overtime negotiation is enough to overcome the contradictions.
However, the government is in a politically difficult situation.
The Defense Minister certainly has the stick in the Defense Committee, but in Parliament the government is a minority.
If the government does not get the Center Party and the liberals to participate in the defense issue, it runs the risk of being invaded by Parliament. It can become a reality if an agreement is not reached. At the same time, this is exactly what C and L are now trying to exploit to try to push billions more from the government.
