A special investigator, Annika Brändström, has been appointed to prepare and implement the formation of such an intelligence agency. The new authority is to be in place on 1 January 2027, according to a press release from the government.
Under the government
An investigation led by the former Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt proposed this summer that parts of the military intelligence service should be transferred from the Swedish Armed Forces to a new civilian foreign intelligence service under the government.
The proposal has been criticized by the Swedish Armed Forces, which has warned against making changes to a functioning operation in a turbulent time.
The new authority will, according to the press release, meet the government's and the Government Offices' intelligence needs regarding foreign conditions. The authority will work closely with the Swedish Armed Forces, the Swedish Defence Radio Establishment (FRA), the Security Service and other relevant authorities within total defence.
Incorrect assessments
Today, intelligence work in Sweden is handled by the Security Service and the military intelligence service Must, which provides the military defence and the government with intelligence. But this no longer works well enough, according to Bildt, who, among other things, highlights Must's incorrect assessments during the run-up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
