Six months have passed since Sweden became a full member of NATO. After a long and tortuous process, Turkey and Hungary finally approved the membership.
Jonas Haggren is vice admiral and Sweden’s military representative in NATO. In Nyhetsmorgon, he tells how the first six months have been and what changes you can see.
– The immediate change for Sweden is that we are covered by Article 5, the security guarantee, which means that an attack on the alliance is an attack on everyone and that Sweden receives guaranteed help within the framework of the alliance. So that’s the immediate impact for the country, he says.
Will send soldiers to Latvia
At the beginning of next year, Sweden will send several hundred soldiers to Latvia in the first NATO operation as an ally. Jonas Haggren believes that the long and difficult process into the alliance has meant that Sweden was able to prepare well. And the Swedish ability is long-awaited.
– The soldiers will have an incredibly important task of contributing to the deterrence of NATO territory, he says.
As an ordinary person, you will not notice any major difference that Sweden is now a full member.
– As this progresses and as we are integrated into NATO’s plans, we will see a greater presence of foreign units than we have done before, says Jonas Haggren.
But Sweden will be an important logistical hub in the form of civil infrastructure such as roads, ports and airports.
– It’s not just about getting finance, but also getting production and infrastructure to deliver, he says.
Could Sweden become a target?
Is there a built-in greater risk of Sweden becoming a target for attacks?
– If you look at the situation we have, there is clearly a risk that you want to fight this type of goal that involves logistics and management. It becomes part of our ability to be able to protect this.
In February, a statement by French President Emmanuel Macron drew widespread attention when he said that nothing is off the table when it comes to sending troops to Ukraine. Jonas Haggren believes that the statement is political but agrees with the substance.
– I can agree that nothing is excluded when it comes to support for Ukraine. Militarily, we have to look at all options, he says.
How great is the risk that Swedish soldiers will need to fight for NATO within ten years?
– We cannot rule out that there could be a conflict with Russia or a war in the near future. Having said that, Sweden is safer as a NATO member, it provides a deterrent effect and so far we have not seen any desire from Russia to want to challenge NATO. It burns in many more places at the same time. I think it is very important that we continue our growth and that we prepare for what cannot be ruled out.