Swedish Prime Minister Highlights Europe’s Security Challenges at RUSI
On 12 May, RUSI hosted His Excellency Mr Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden, for an address and roundtable discussion. The Prime Minister reflected on the security of Sweden and Europe, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the future of NATO.
On Sweden’s defence priorities, he emphasised Sweden’s commitment to raising defence spending with an overall target of 3.5% of GDP by 2030 as well as the need for better preparedness and resilience in Europe to meet a changing security environment.
Turning in his address to Ukraine, he noted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed that Russia posed a grave threat, especially to countries near Russia’s borders and that the outcome of the Ukraine war would be critical to determining Europe’s future security.
Related to this he acknowledged that Europe needed to raise its spending on defence, regardless of the future levels of US troops based in Europe. He also stressed the importance of the inclusion of significant European defence partners, the UK and Norway, in Europe’s evolving defence arrangements.
