…Although an armed attack directly at Sweden is unlikely, the Russian behaviour in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere has increased the risk for crisis and incidents involving military means and we cannot rule out armed attacks in the future.
This is why Sweden has decided on a new orientation for our defence and security policy. After years of cuts in defence spending and a focus on international operations, parliament decided in June 2015 to substantially increase defence spending and to refocus the Armed Forces towards national defence…
Well-equipped and well trained personnel are of utmost importance for building military capability. Since the abolishment of the conscription in 2009, the armed forces have had enormous problems recruiting personnel to fill its ranks. At the moment we lack around 800 active soldiers and over 6 000 reservists. In order to stabilise the personnel situation, the Swedish government commissioned an inquiry in the end of 2015 to look into how a modernised conscription could complete the volunteer recruitment. Its directives pointed out the Norwegian and Danish systems for inspiration…
The other pillar of the new defence policy is to deepen and strengthen defence cooperation with other countries and organisations in the region. Sweden will remain a military non-aligned country. It is a security doctrine that is distinct, well known and well respected.
It is from the position of military non-alignment Sweden is deepening its defence cooperation with others. The Nordic cooperation is central in this strategy. Our countries face similar security challenges and we share many security interests and positions. Ours is an important geostrategic region and the Nordic defence cooperation, as well as the cooperation with the Baltic states, contributes to a peaceful development and it raises the threshold for military conflicts and incidents in our region in the long term. Läs talet