Speech by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at Folk och Försvar in Sälen 2025

Your Majesty, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Right now – as we gather here at Folk och Försvar in Sälen – a mechanised battalion from the South Skåne Regiment P7 is making its way across the Baltic Sea to Latvia. 600 women and men. Everything is packed – battle tanks, combat vehicles and armoured transport vehicles. A lot of food. And they are accompanied by the field chaplain. 

I know that they take pride in the operation that they are now undertaking. And as a nation, we feel gratitude. They are defending us and our freedom, on Allied territory. 

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On 7 March, we will celebrate one year as members of NATO. 

With hard work and careful preparation, we have been integrated swiftly. And we are already on our way to Latvia. Our framework nation responsibility for NATO’s Forward Land Forces in Finland is beginning. We are contributing aircraft to NATO’s Air Policing. And we are ready to contribute to the Standing Naval Forces. 

It is an asset to Sweden in NATO that our membership has such broad and strong support. Both politically, and among the population. It is testament to the serious times we live in. But also a sign that Sweden has changed. 

From rather too often being a wide-eyed idealist on the sidelines, to becoming a realist at the centre of the events. 

A country that contributes willingly and generously, where we have unique capabilities. And that always safeguards Swedish national security interests. 

A country that doesn’t turn a blind eye to all the misery in the world, but realises that it alone cannot solve every problem in the world. And that all the world’s problems should not be brought to Sweden either. 

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Sweden is not at war. But there is no peace either. 

Real peace requires freedom and the absence of serious conflict between countries. Yet we and our neighbours are subjected to hybrid attacks, which are not conducted using missiles and soldiers, but using computers, money, disinformation and threats of sabotage.

We are also living in an era of proxy wars. Iran is using criminal gangs with a huge capacity for violence to commit serious acts through proxies in Sweden.  

Russia and Belarus are using migrants to influence Finland and Poland – weaponising them, as it is so aptly known.

Russia also tried to undermine the democratic elections in Moldova with bought votes. It is infiltrating Georgia and recently even made a shocking attempt to do so in an EU country, in Romania. If these kinds of attempts succeed, it will redraw the map of Europe – again.

So take this seriously. The Government and I take it very seriously. Democracy is superior to dictatorship, but democracies are also delicate and vulnerable.

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Finland boarded and is now investigating the vessel Eagle S, which is suspected of being behind the underwater cable damage between Finland and Estonia. This was an important decision, and we would have done the same under the same circumstances.  

NATO is ready to assist. Sweden’s submarine rescue ship HMS Belos was at the scene and recovered an anchor. The day after tomorrow, I am meeting the Baltic Sea states’ heads of state and government in Helsinki. None of us are making hasty accusations. But we’re all taking this extremely seriously.

Sweden respects the Law of the Sea and was not able – in international waters and against the will of the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3 – to go on board and conduct a criminal investigation on the corresponding damage to Swedish underwater cables. Rules are rules.

Now, two things are important: 

Sweden doesn’t jump to hasty conclusions or accuse anyone of sabotage without very strong grounds. The work continues and the National Security Council is being kept up-to-date.

But nor are we naive. The security situation, and the fact that strange things keep happening in the Baltic Sea, also leads us to believe that hostile intent cannot be ruled out. There is little to suggest that a vessel would accidentally, and without realising it, drag an anchor with a 300-metre chain for more than 100 kilometres without understanding that it could cause damage.

The key question that remains unanswered is why this happened. Whether it was intentional, and if so, at whose behest? Under no circumstances will Sweden or our neighbours allow this to continue.

So, we’re not at war, but nor are we at peace. And we no longer stand alone. Together with our neighbours and Allies, it is our task to secure the Baltic Sea as a sea of peace and freedom. 

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The Russian threat appears to be long-term. Our defence must also be long-term.  

The Defence Resolution that the Riksdag adopted in December – and that all eight parties support – is an important step in that direction. I appreciate this breadth of agreement and I think we should focus on what unites us more often. 

We joined NATO with our defence spending at more than 2 per cent of GDP. This year it will be 2.4 per cent and in three years 2.6 per cent. So, we are not only contributing in geographical terms, we’re also providing capacity. We have also approved a historic increase in civil defence spending totalling SEK 37.5 billion up to 2030. 

Cyber is the new frontier in modern civil defence. The National Cybersecurity Centre is now being revamped, and has been led by the National Defence Radio Establishment since November. This year’s budget includes our largest ever investment in cybersecurity. 

I’m certainly not ruling out that circumstances will demand that we take further steps to build up and expand Sweden’s defence. The Baltic countries invest around 3 per cent of their economies in defence. Finland invests 2.4 per cent, but it has more than double the number of conscripts Sweden has, despite having only half our population. Poland spends more than 4 per cent of its GDP on defence. European NATO must do more. 

It all comes down to priorities. We can afford to defend our freedom – but we can’t afford to lose our freedom. 

Just a couple of months ago, I brought together my counterparts in the Nordic region, the Baltic states and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk for talks in Harpsund. We spoke about our continued support to Ukraine and reaffirmed that we will stand by them for as long as it takes. 

We spoke about the importance of transatlantic cooperation and our joint defence of the Baltic Sea we share. Cooperation between our countries has probably never been as close as it is today. Nor has it been more vital.  

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The defence of Sweden is the state’s primary task. But defending Sweden is not only the responsibility of the state. Society is bigger than the state. And serious times demand serious insights – that we in in Sweden we have both rights and responsibilities. You can’t have one without the other. 

Sweden is not only a place of freedom and self-fulfilment. It is also a place of responsibility and self-sacrifice. And there are many in our country who are taking responsibility and doing their duty. More and more people are realising that a free country must be able to defend its freedom. That a country always has an army – its own or somebody else’s.

In Karlskrona I met the very first Swedish soldiers and sailors who are doing their entire military service with Sweden as a NATO member. They were both serious and enthusiastic. Thank you to all the young women and men who are making their own contribution! 

After the Second World War, we lived in the post-war period. Then the Cold War. And then, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet system, in what many believed would be an era of perpetual peace. 

Now we’re in a new era again. And it certainly doesn’t have to be a pre-war period, but as you know, if you want peace, prepare for war. 

And let us recall two things from the last time we faced a showdown between democracy and dictatorship.  

Firstly: Sweden and Europe became freer and richer, and parents saw their children enjoy a future that they themselves couldn’t have dreamt of. 

Secondly: We won, and dictatorship lost. There is no natural law ensuring that it will always be so. But the free world has done it before, and we can do it again. Let us plan for the worst, so we can continue to hope for the best.