Still, very much remains unclear, but the discussions are intense right now about how Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defense and rely less on the USA.
It lies in the direction of the tangent that we need to do more, says Svantesson.
In a few years, a new balance target will be introduced for the state budget. Something that a majority of the Riksdag parties stand behind.
It will provide from 2027 somewhere between 20-25 billion more in reform space. For me, it's very natural that it should be used for defense expenditures, says the Finance Minister.
More Money
In recent years, the defense budget has doubled and the Riksdag has made decisions that the defense should continue to grow – from 125 billion in 2024 to 173 billion in 2028. This corresponds to 2.6 percent of GDP.
But now figures are being mentioned that NATO countries need to invest at least 3.5 percent of GDP. And US President Donald Trump has spoken of five percent.
Svantesson emphasizes that no one today knows exactly how much more is required.
But growth, reprioritizations, and the balance target go a long way, says she.
Building up the defense is a slow and complicated process. It takes a long time to get deliveries of materiel and to train soldiers. But the question is whether the decided defense investments can be sped up?
It remains to be seen, but it's also a capacity issue. It's about the defense industry being able to produce and that we can grow at a pace that is possible – where we naturally have close cooperation with the Defense Forces, says Svantesson.
Faster Speed
Even Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) believes that Sweden must continue to build up its defense.
We must do everything we're doing now and do it at an even higher speed, says he.
Both Svantesson and Kristersson point to the NATO summit in June as decisive for which level the defense investments will land on.
I believe that the NATO summit in The Hague this summer will be important for a rather dramatic buildup of very many European NATO countries' defense, says Kristersson.
