Explained: Why isn't Sweden part of the Nato security alliance?

[Celerity]

The debate over Nato membership is raging in Sweden following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We look at why Sweden never joined in the first place.

https://www.thelocal.se/20220314/explained-why-isnt-sweden-part-of-nato-and-should-it-join-now/



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Why isn’t Sweden part of Nato already?

After the end of the Second World War, Sweden at first attempted to bolster its security in the face of the Soviet Union by creating a Nordic Defence Union with Denmark and Norway, with intense negotiations taking place throughout 1948. After this attempt failed in 1949, Denmark and Norway became two of the twelve founder members of Nato, while Sweden and its eastern neighbour Finland opted to stay outside the new security alliance. Instead, Sweden declared a security policy aiming for “non-alignment in peace with the goal of neutrality in war”.

According to Mikael Holmström, author of The Hidden Alliance – Sweden’s secret ties to Nato, Östen Undén, Sweden’s left-wing foreign minister at the time, did not want to be beholden to the US. “He was sceptical of America and the American capitalistic system, and had a more friendly attitude, or at least a less sceptical one, towards the Soviet Union,” he told The Local.

During the 40 years of unbroken Social Democrat rule in Sweden which ended in 1976, neutrality became part of a broader vision of Sweden taking the “middle way” between the rival systems of the US and the Soviet Union. “We had this blandekonomi [mixed economy] which was neither capitalist nor communist. We had this fantastic mixture in Sweden. It was the Swedish image — economically, politically and militarily — something Sweden projected abroad. And it was also a moral thing, that Sweden in a way was superior to both the East bloc and the West bloc.”

How far back does Sweden’s neutral stance go?

Sweden has maintained a neutral stance since 1814, when its troops invaded Denmark and then forced it to hand over its territories in Norway in the Treaty of Kiel. It stuck to its neutral stance through both the First World War and the Second World War, and was rewarded with rapid industrial development as it supplied the warring powers. “You have to remember that the policy of neutrality had been successful,” Holmström says of the situation in 1949. “All Sweden’s neighbours had been drawn into the war, so they [the Social Democrats] didn’t want to change the policy.”

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my add


We are a part of the NATO Response force, as well as being part of:


Press release from Ministry of Defence



Sweden takes part in Joint Expeditionary Force exercise

https://www.government.se/press-releases/2022/03/sweden-takes-part-in-joint-expeditionary-force-exercise/


UK Joint Expeditionary Force

The UK Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is a United Kingdom-led expeditionary force which may consist of, as necessary, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.





Finland, Sweden to receive enhanced access to NATO intel over Ukraine

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine extends Moscow’s military power to the borders of several NATO members, NATO partners Finland and Sweden can be part of an intensified exchange of information and NATO’s strategic communication.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/finland-sweden-to-receive-enhanced-access-to-nato-intel-over-ukraine/

“Sweden and Finland may, if they so wish on a case-by-case basis, participate in enhanced contacts with NATO, enhanced information exchange and coordination, information on operations and strategic communications,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö confirmed to reporters after a virtual NATO summit on Friday (26 February). NATO partners Finland, Sweden and the EU were also invited to participate.

“It is not in itself something revolutionary, but it should be noted that all countries see this as the right arrangement,” Niinistö said, adding this would not equal the possibility of Finland joining NATO. In practice, this means that the two countries could participate in enhanced intelligence-sharing and strategic communications on a case-by-case basis.

Based on the arrangement, Finland could, for example, request confidential information from NATO or vice versa, while the respective holder of the information would decide whether to provide the information. According to diplomatic sources, NATO leaders on Friday discussed the special role of both since “they need to be fully informed because of their strategic position for Russia”.

Finland and Sweden are two of six countries known as ‘enhanced partners’, largely due to their contributions to NATO operations. As such, they have options when it comes to cooperation. In recent months, NATO has stepped up cooperation focusing on security in the Baltic Sea region, which includes political consultations, exchanges of information on hybrid warfare, and joint exercises.

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these are some of the military/defence groups we (Sweden, plus Finland) are in

There seems to be a misunderstanding here by some who think Finland and Sweden are all alone, twisting in the wind, simply because we are not full NATO members. I can assure all that that is not the case, we both cooperate deeply with NATO already.


Nordic Defence Cooperation




Nordic Battlegroup




National participation in the principal European and trans-Atlantic defence arrangements









NATO Relations with Sweden

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_52535.htm






Baltic Sea security - a shared priority for 🇸🇪Sweden and NATO

[left-of-center2012]

1. Or, in one sentence ...

By being neutral they can make money off both sides in a war.

[Celerity]

2. we do not sell arms to enemies of Nato and the US, and certainly are not trading with Russia now

Article from Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Impact of Russian invasion on Swedish companies and foreign trade

https://government.se/articles/2022/03/impact-of-russian-invasion-on-swedish-companies-and-foreign-trade/

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Sweden’s trade with Ukraine

Some 90 Swedish companies are active in Ukraine and are now being hit very hard by the war. As a result of the invasion, many of the businesses have ceased their activities. The Government is closely monitoring developments and is regularly in direct contact with Swedish companies operating in Ukraine.

Swedish trade with Ukraine is limited and amounts to less than one per cent of Sweden’s exports and imports. The current assessment is that disruptions will not have a significant impact on society but that individual companies may be affected in the form of restrictions on input products or reduced sales. In general, the impact on Swedish industry is expected to be more indirect rather than direct, i.e. value chains via other countries.

Sweden’s trade with Russia

Russia is no longer an active trading partner of Sweden or of the EU. To date, four massive sanctions packages against Russia have been introduced by the EU and Sweden’s partners. Some 500 Swedish companies are active in Russia, including around 20 large companies and 13 400 employees in Swedish groups in the country (figures from 2019).

Trade with Russia has accounted for 1.3 per cent of Swedish exports. Sweden’s dependence on Russian imports is also low. One of the reasons for this is that Sweden’s energy sources are largely domestic. Sweden also has the EU’s lowest dependence on natural gas and so on Russian energy imports. But Swedish companies and consumers may still be affected by increased energy prices and other indirect trade effects.

Regarding the need for companies to find new supplier routes and trading partners, the Government can provide assistance through Business Sweden and Swedish government agencies. Business Sweden is now redirecting its operations to support Swedish companies to leave Russia. The Nordic Council of Ministers has also decided to suspend all cooperation with Russia and Belarus.