Ministry of Defence

From 1 to 8 December, Minister for Defence Pål Jonson is visiting the United States to take part in the Reagan National Defense Forum, promote Swedish defence innovations and industry, and strengthen bilateral cooperation with the US.

Damage to cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea has been discovered recently on multiple occasions. The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) will increase its presence to help improve protection of critical underwater infrastructure in the region. Sweden will provide two corvettes.

On November 23, Minister for Defence Pål Jonson invites the media to a press conference, following the meeting with defence ministers from the Nordic and Baltic countries at Karlberg Palace.

Updated version 23/10 16:30: It has been confirmed that an undersea telecommunications cable between Sweden and Estonia has been damaged by means of external force or tampering. Minister for Defence Pål Jonson and Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin held a press conference on Tuesday 17 October to provide an overview of the situation and describe what government agencies are doing in response. Chief of the Swedish Navy Ewa Skoog Haslum and Director General of the Swedish Coast Guard Lena Lindgren Schelin also took part in the press conference.

The Government today adopted a proposal for an additional amending budget containing a new support package to Ukraine. The package, which is the fourteenth of its kind, includes artillery shells, spare parts, infantry equipment, communication equipment and Combat Vehicle 90 ammunition, worth around SEK 1.7 billion. The main part of the package regards ammunition and spare parts. In addition, the Government plans to adopt additional measures to supplement the direct materiel support, meaning that this support package will be worth a total of around SEK 2.2 billion. The Government also presented an assignment to the Swedish Armed Forces to analyse and report on the conditions for strengthening Ukraine through JAS 39 Gripen.

Sweden is currently facing the most serious security situation since the Second World War. This places new demands on military defence.

In light of the serious security environment, the Government has proposed a number of investments in civil defence and crisis preparedness in the Budget Bill for 2024 and the autumn amending budget for 2023.

In the Budget Bill for 2024, the Government proposes additional funding to military defence amounting to approximately SEK 700 million. Taking into account upward adjustments and previous decisions, appropriations for military defence will increase by more than SEK 27 billion between 2023 and 2024 – an increase of 28 per cent. This means that appropriations have doubled since 2020 and that Sweden will already reach the defence expenditure target of two per cent of GDP according to NATO’s definition in 2024. In the Budget Bill, the Government also estimates additional funding for 2025 and 2026 amounting to approximately SEK 1.2 billion and SEK 7.4 billion, respectively.

On 29 August, Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin held a press conference with acting Director General of the Psychological Defence Agency Magnus Hjort. They presented a status report on the extensive malign influence campaigns targeting Sweden. They also announced a new assignment for the Psychological Defence Agency, accompanied by increased funding.

The defence ministers of the EU Member States will gather for an informal meeting in Toledo, Spain on 29–30 August. The meeting will focus on EU military support to Ukraine.

(New version) The Government has provided basis for a new support package to Ukraine. The assistance includes ammunition and spare parts for several of the equipment systems that Sweden has donated to Ukraine, including Combat Vehicle 90 and Battle Tank 122 (Leopard 2). Sweden is also sending transport vehicles, contingency goods and mine clearance equipment. At the same time, the Government also need to obtain authorisation to sell the RB 99 (AMRAAM) air-to-air missiles to the United States, which will then donate them to Ukraine. The total value of this thirteenth support package amounts to approximately SEK 3.4 billion.

This compilation contains a selection of acts and ordinances – both new and amended – that enter into force around the second half of 2023.

Twenty-three NATO Allies have officially become Limited Partners of the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), which is preparing to make its initial investments later this year. The Participating Allies have also welcomed Sweden’s interest to join the NIF. Sweden’s participation will take effect upon its accession to the North Atlantic Treaty.

Today, Wednesday 26 July, Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin held a press briefing on recent influence campaigns against Sweden. Mikael Östlund, Head of Communications at the Psychological Defence Agency (MPF), also took part.

On 12 July at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Minister for Defence Pål Jonson signed a protective security agreement with Ukraine. The agreement makes it possible for Sweden and Ukraine to exchange confidential information concerning, for example, test flights of JAS Gripen or military equipment.

How many people work at the Government Offices? What was the central government budget like last year? How many acts and ordinances were issued last year? The answer to these and other questions can be found in the Swedish Government Offices Yearbook 2022.

Finland’s new Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen visited Sweden on Thursday 6 July to meet with Minister for Defence Pål Jonson. The ministers discussed matters such as Sweden’s upcoming accession to NATO and Sweden’s and Finland’s continued support to Ukraine.

On Thursday 6 July, Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will visit Sweden to meet with Minister for Defence Pål Jonson. This will be Mr Häkkänen’s first visit abroad as Minister of Defence.

“Nordic defence cooperation is more important than ever,” say the Nordic defence ministers in a joint statement from a meeting in Iceland on 20–21 June within the framework of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO). 

Singapore, 3rd of June, 2023 Check against delivery