STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Swedish government said Monday it wants to increase the defense budget by 28%, putting it on track to reach a military spending target of 2% of gross domestic product set by NATO, which the Scandinavian country is poised to meet. joins.
Defense Minister Pall Johnson said: “We are in the most dangerous political security situation since the end of World War II, which requires Sweden to have a defense ready to protect Swedish territory.”
Sweden’s center-right coalition government said, while unveiling the 2024 defense bill, that military spending would increase by a total of 27 billion kroner ($2.4 billion). Of this amount, approximately 700 million kroner ($63 million) will be spent on Sweden’s future NATO membership.
Johnson said Sweden must adapt its military preparations and training in preparation for NATO membership, but it must also continue its support for Ukraine.
In May last year, Sweden – and neighboring Finland – requested protection under NATO’s security umbrella after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, Sweden, which has abandoned a long history of military non-alignment, is still waiting to become the alliance’s 32nd member. Finland joined earlier this year.
New entries must be approved by all current members, but Turkey has so far refused to ratify Sweden’s request. Ankara said this was due to Sweden’s refusal to extradite dozens of people suspected of having links to Kurdish armed organizations.
Turkey also criticized a series of demonstrations in Sweden and Denmark where the Holy Quran, the Islamic holy book, was burned.
At the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would drop its objection to Sweden’s membership, after more than a year of obstructing it. However, the Turkish Parliament still has to ratify the request, as does Hungary.
Sweden’s three-party government consists of moderate conservatives, Christian Democrats and liberals. They enjoy a majority in the Swedish parliament with the help of the Sweden Democrats, a far-right party that has entered the political mainstream after years of being treated as a pariah by other parties.