Personnel from the Swedish Amphibious Corps and the U.S. Marine Corps ride on a fast assault craft as they participate in the military exercise Archipelago Endeavor 23 in the Stockholm Archipelago on September 13, 2023. It was the first major military exercise between the U.S. and Swedish militaries after the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Swedish government said on September 11, 2023, that it wants to increase its defense budget by 28%, putting it on track to reach the military spending target of 2% of gross domestic product set by NATO, which the Scandinavian country is preparing to join.
“We are in the most serious security policy situation since the end of World War II, which requires Sweden to have a defense that is ready to protect Swedish territory,” Defence Minister Pål Jonson said.
Unveiling a defense bill for 2024, Sweden’s center-right coalition government said military spending would increase by $2.4 billion. Of that amount, about $63 million will be spent on Sweden’s future membership in NATO.
Jonson said Sweden must adapt its preparedness and its military exercises to prepare for NATO membership but must also continue its support for Ukraine.
In May 2022, Sweden — and neighboring Finland — sought protection under NATO’s security umbrella after Russia invaded Ukraine.
However, Sweden, which abandoned a long history of military nonalignment, is still waiting to become the 32nd member of the alliance. Finland joined this year.
New entries must be approved by all existing members, but Turkey has so far refused to ratify Sweden’s application. Ankara said this was because Sweden was refusing to extradite dozens of people suspected of links to Kurdish militant organizations.
Turkey has also criticized a series of demonstrations in both Sweden and Denmark where the Quran, Islam’s holy book, was burned.
At a NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would drop its objection to Sweden’s membership, after more than a year of blocking it. However, the Turkish Parliament must still ratify the application, as must Hungary.