STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) – An eagerly awaited security analysis in Sweden has shown the advantages of NATO accession for the previously non-aligned country. “Swedish NATO membership would raise the threshold for military conflicts and thus have a conflict-preventing effect in Northern Europe,” says the analysis published on Friday. The document does not provide a clear recommendation for or against joining the defense alliance. However, it is considered the basis for a decision by the Scandinavian EU country on possible NATO membership.
“We are finding that the Russian crisis is structural, systematic and protracted,” said Foreign Minister Ann Linde at the presentation of the report that the parliamentary parties drafted together with the government. This is the basis of the entire analysis. The biggest consequence of a possible NATO membership would be that Sweden would come under the collective security of the alliance.
According to the report, Sweden would not only strengthen its own security with membership, but also contribute to the security of like-minded neighboring countries. The prospect of joining NATO would give Sweden security guarantees that would not exist without membership.
A disadvantage of Sweden’s accession would therefore be that Russia could react negatively to it. Attempts to influence the public and decision-makers in Sweden are considered the most likely. Cyber attacks are also conceivable.
Sweden is traditionally non-aligned, but in view of the Ukraine war, like neighboring Finland, it could change its mind. The Social Democrats of Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who are in power in a minority government, want to make a decision on their own position on the NATO issue on Sunday. If they are in favor of joining, a corresponding Swedish application could possibly be made the next day.
The safety analysis was written by the eight Swedish parliamentary parties and the government. The NATO-critical Greens and Left were the only ones who had objections to the final sentences of the analysis./trs/DP/stw