Sweden’s major security conference starts with talks on NATO, Ukraine, terrorism

The annual Folk och Försvar security conference in Sweden kicked off on Sunday with discussions on the country’s expected NATO membership, a new counter-terrorism strategy, and a thank you message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The conference, which is to take place until Tuesday, aims to provide a forum for discussion and debate on the country’s most pressing security challenges, which today include NATO membership, the rising terrorism threat, increasing criminality and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

NATO membership was one of the long-discussed issues, with Foreign Minister Tobias Billström saying that Sweden’s security policy in NATO would be guided by a “policy of solidarity and alliance”.

“Sweden will be a reliable, supportive and committed NATO member,” Billström said, according to whom Sweden will be active not only in the defence and security of NATO’s border with Russia but also on Europe’s southern border and the Arctic.

Billström also stressed that Sweden’s forthcoming NATO membership would be the most significant change in Swedish security policy in more than 200 years.

“It means both great responsibility and new opportunities to strengthen our freedom and security – not least for Swedish diplomacy,” Billström said, adding that Russia will continue to pose a serious threat to Swedish and European security for the foreseeable future.

“We must be realistic and assume – and prepare for – a long-term confrontation,” Billström said, adding that it is in Sweden’s interest to limit Russia’s strategic options, be it militarily, economically or politically.

According to Billström, the main way to limit Russia’s options is through strong and sustained support for Ukraine, which Sweden has supported since the start of the war.

Zelenskyy’s speech

Zelenskyy also attended the conference and gave a speech in which he stressed the importance of solidarity and international support against Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine and, in particular, Sweden’s contribution.

“I want to thank Swedish society for your solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he said, mentioning the Archer artillery system – a Swedish self-propelled howitzer known for its mobility and precision – that Ukraine received from Sweden.

“Russia can be defeated by showing solidarity with each other,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Europe needs its own defence industry for the sake of its freedom.

New terrorism strategy

Another issue raised during the conference was the Swedish government’s new national strategy against terrorism and violent extremism.

This strategy has been used over the years as a basis for long-term counter-terrorism work and is intended to be used by both the government and the authorities.

Its update was announced by Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer at a time the Swedish Security Service raised the national terrorist threat level from an elevated threat (level 3) to a high threat (level 4) on a five-point scale.

Over the past year, Sweden has been hard at work updating its two separate strategies against terrorism and violent extremism, for which the last update was carried out in 2015.

The keywords of the new strategy will, therefore, be “prevent, deter, protect and manage”.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)