The Liberals believe that the parties in the Riksdag should agree to be ready to finance Sweden's share of a stronger EU defense through loans. And it is worth paying a higher Swedish membership fee if major investments are made in defense in the long-term budget that is now being negotiated between the member states.
- We need to focus on defense and security, not agricultural support, says party leader Simona Mohamsson at a press conference.
The EU's next long-term budget is expected to be significantly larger than the current one and thus also result in a higher membership fee for Sweden, even without large additional defense-related investments. But such investments are needed, according to the Liberals, to make Europe less dependent on major powers. Simply managing Europe's defense through NATO is not enough.
Correction: An earlier version said that the Liberals wanted the EU to lend for defense.
