The NATO summit in The Hague, which only lasted a few hours, is called historic by many. According to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party), the summit was the most important for Sweden's security in many years.
However, he is not sure that the NATO agreement is sufficient to deter a potential Russian attack on NATO in the future.
One can never be sure, but it will be much better with an agreement that credibly makes the European part of NATO much stronger, he says.
According to the summit declaration, the NATO countries will increase their defense investments to five percent of GDP annually from 2035.
Arming faster
Sweden, and also the Nordic and Baltic countries, would have preferred a faster buildup by setting 2030 as the goal.
We aim to reach the goal by 2030, says Kristersson.
At least 3.5 percent of GDP will, according to NATO's new goal, go to pure military expenditures annually, while 1.5 percent will be invested in defense-related investments, for example in the defense industry or in certain infrastructure.
This can be compared to NATO's current goal of two percent of GDP in pure military expenditures.
Sweden's defense budget amounts to 2.6 percent of GDP this year. Increasing to 3.5 percent may mean that the defense budget needs to be increased by about 70 billion kronor.
Other NATO countries have indicated that they may have difficulty meeting such a buildup. However, Kristersson states that none of the other leaders deviated from the common line at the summit.
There was no one who requested, let alone received any exceptions, he says.
Trump: Terrible
However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on Wednesday that the country will not spend more than 2.1 percent on defense. He is convinced that Spain will still be able to meet the requirements that NATO sets for military capability. Something that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte believes is impossible.
The agreement means that the countries will report annually on the progress of the buildup and in 2029 the new NATO goal will be reviewed. Kristersson expects that NATO will keep track of all countries living up to their commitments.
The USA will definitely do so, he says.
US President Donald Trump was very pleased with the NATO agreement, but criticized Spain.
– It's terrible what they've done. They're the only country that refuses to pay. They want to ride for free, it's unfair, says Trump and promises action.
The American president had, prior to the summit, once again managed to create doubt about whether the USA will live up to NATO's defense guarantees according to Article Five of the NATO treaty.
In the declaration, which Trump supports, it is stated that "an attack on one is an attack on all".
