The Swedish government plans to increase its defense budget by about 40 percent over the next five years. According to Defense Minister Hultqvist, it is the largest increase since the 1950s.
With the extra money, 27 billion kroner (about 2.6 billion euros), a number of regiments that have been inactive have been made operational again. The number of conscripts will also increase by 8,000.
Military cooperation with other countries is also being intensified. This concerns other Scandinavian countries and NATO.
Prevent armed attack
The Swedish government cites deteriorated international security as a reason for the sharp increase in defense spending. Minister Hultqvist, for example, talks about “Russian aggression”. According to him, an armed attack on Sweden cannot be ruled out.
The proposal has yet to be approved by Parliament. That seems a formality, given that Prime Minister Löfven’s left-wing minority government has put together the package of measures together with two opposition parties.
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