– It is completely new for Sweden to have American pre-storage and presence on its own soil, says researcher Karsten Friis in NUPI to news. The US gets the opportunity to use 17 military bases, facilities and training areas throughout Sweden. – We have already had close and good cooperation with the USA. It will now become even stronger, says Sweden’s Defense Minister Pål Jonson. He and his American colleague Lloyd Austin signed the agreement in Washington on Tuesday evening. Warm-up – The defense agreement can be understood as a warm-up to Sweden becoming a member of NATO, says Friis. The agreement is also about deterrence. – It will be easier to train and to be prepared when help is needed, explains Friis. Researcher Karsten Friis in NUPI Photo: NUPI It has been fundamental in Swedish defense policy that the country should be non-aligned in peacetime, in order to be able to act neutrally in a possible war. This principle became more nuanced over twenty years ago when Sweden agreed to allow cooperation if there is a danger to peace and security. In the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine, both Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership last year. Sweden is still waiting for Turkey and Hungary to approve the country as a NATO member. Approved Before the recent defense agreement between the USA and Sweden becomes a reality, it must be approved in the Riksdag. Friis explains that Sweden is going for approval of everything that is assumed to be needed in the future. This does not mean that all the bases that receive approval are actually used by the Americans, but that such a large majority is required in the Riksdag that one might as well take everything at once. In 2021, Norway agreed to a similar defense cooperation with the USA, called the “supplementary agreement”. Approval from the Storting was then requested for only four “united areas” that were relevant at this time. We are not talking about American bases, but areas within existing military facilities to which both countries must have access, as well as some minor possible exceptions that are only available to the United States. While in Sweden consent is required from at least two thirds in the Riksdag, only a simple majority is required in the Storting. Norway can therefore more easily wait with approval of several areas until it becomes relevant, explains Friis. The US-Norwegian cooperation agreement builds on several other agreements we have had since the Cold War, such as the Marine Corps’ advance storage in Trøndelag. Cooperation The agreement Sweden is entering into now will, among other things, make it easier for the US to move military equipment, departments and the like, between other countries with which agreements have been concluded. – It’s about making arrangements to get American help if there is a crisis, without having to wait for weeks for some technical or legal problem, says Friis. He adds that time is an important factor in crisis and war. Friis explains that it also means a lot for Nordic security cooperation, because the cooperation can become much closer. – After all, the US is our main guarantor should the worst happen. Then you have to make arrangements so that they can actually come, says Friis. The agreement means that the US can act more quickly in the event of a crisis, without waiting for a decision in NATO on how the alliance as a whole should act. Denmark, Finland and the Baltic countries, as well as Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, also have or are in the process of putting similar agreements in place.
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The US gets access to bases in Sweden – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
