The Government Offices confirm the information to DN, but do not want to say what the notebook contained. They downplay the security risk.
In a comment to TT via the Government Offices' press service, Niclas Kvarnström writes that the notes did not contain classified information.
"It is true that in connection with the NATO summit in Ankara, I left a notebook in the NATO meeting rooms. It contained my notes. This happened in premises where NATO is responsible for security."
No damage assessment
He further writes that NATO has procedures for handling abandoned material.
"Based on my information and my assessment of the content, the Government Offices' civil servants' organization has concluded that no damage assessment needs to be made according to the authority's security regulations."
The notes had not yet been recovered as of lunchtime on Wednesday, according to an email to TT.
The Government Offices will not answer whether the notebook contained confidential information.
However, Jörgen Holmlund, who teaches intelligence analysis at the Swedish National Defence University, believes that the notebook could still be sensitive.
What you have in your notebook may be perceived as open information, such as certain meeting notes. But when combined with important information regarding Sweden's position in NATO, positions, the sale of Global Eye, it becomes a number of business cards, meetings, which picture by picture can be sensitive.
He believes that the Government Offices must investigate the incident and make a damage assessment. Turkey has also been a sensitive country during Sweden's NATO process, Holmlund points out.
We should always make a case assessment and an audit of how we have acted and what conclusions we can draw.
“Shouldn’t happen”
In general, he finds the whole incident embarrassing.
My first thought was "oh no, not again". Because I don't think this should happen.
Henrik Landerholm, one of Niclas Kvarnström's predecessors as national security adviser, resigned in January 2025 after it emerged that he had forgotten documents containing secret information on a course campus.
Landerholm was acquitted in the district court of the charge of negligence with confidential information. The case will be heard in the Court of Appeal in September.
