In a groundbreaking move, Finland and Sweden simultaneously handed in their official letters of application to join NATO, breaking decades of neutrality. This move is a drastic change in Swedish policy, making headlines worldwide. The Egyptian Mail sat with the Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Håkan Emsgård to know more about the reasons lurking behind this fundamental decision.
Ambassador Emsgård said the decision was triggered by Russian aggression against Ukraine. It was also prompted by Russia’s statements that they would like to have a say in the security policy of neighbouring countries in Europe.
“This is very difficult for us as it is extremely important that every country can decide by themselves the kind of security policy they pursue,” the envoy said.
The ambassador went on to say that the Russian attack in Ukraine breaks all the norms and “everything we have established in Europe for our security”.
“It was clear they think that Ukraine doesn’t have the right to exist as a nation. That was the reason for fundamental change,” he added.
Regarding the process of taking this decision, the ambassador said that Sweden has a committee of all eight parties in parliament that made thorough analysis of the situation and they agreed that there is a significant change in the situation, a matter that led to the decision we took.
“Six of the eight parties representing more than 80 per cent of the votes decided that joining NATO is the best option for Sweden and the best way to guarantee the security of Sweden at this time,” he said.
“This is the conclusion we have drawn. I don’t think we are going to change that because of anything that would happen in the short term. There is no direct threat from Russia military against Sweden at the moment in the short term, but this situation gives us concerns for the long term.”
The ambassador said if there is one player that acts in unpredictable way, you have to think also in the long-term.
In the meantime, the Swedish Ambassador said that this decision does not change the fundamental elements of Sweden foreign policy.
“It also goes in tandem with our engagement and support for the United Nations, our support for peace-building, disarmament and mediation in diverse conflicts,” he said.
Regarding concerns that this decision will bring instability to North Europe, the ambassador stressed that joining NATO should make Europe and more particularly Northern Europe more stable than it was before.
“If you look at the map you will find all countries around Baltic Sea except Russia will be members of NATO. This means that we will have common defence planning and integrated defence structures,” he said.
At local level, the ambassador said public opinion supports joining NATO, having clear majority that is in favour.
On taking this decision along with Finland, the ambassador said that there have been bilateral talks with Finland on daily basis in the last few months.
“Finland is our closest neighbour and ally. All parties have agreed to do this jointly,” he said.
The ambassador said that Sweden could add a lot to NATO. For instance, NATO Defence Ministers agreed to commit a minimum of 2 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defence spending. Sweden has a clear plan for this.
“We have important defence capacity to add. We have defence industry that can contribute to common projects of various kinds.”
The ambassador said that Sweden sends out strong message through this move:
“We decide on our own about our security policy. Our message is very clear.”
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