Sweden vows to push defense collaboration, cyber defense at EU helm

HELSINKI — Sweden’s half-year rotating presidency of the European Union, which began on Jan. 1, is shaped to deliver a sharper focus on the need to deepen collaboration among member states in the key areas of defense capabilities and joint military procurements.

Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson’s Moderate-led coalition government, which was elected to office after parliamentary elections in September 2022, has identified “unity of purpose” and the strengthening of European defense readiness and capacities as primary targets during the term of its presidency.

Sweden, against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, favors solutions that can advance the collective defense of Europe using weapons and allied military equipment that are not only made in the EU but acquired under joint procurement arrangements.

The framework for Sweden’s presidency prioritizes continued EU economic and military support for Ukraine. A longstanding target of hostile threats from Moscow, Sweden embodies the Nordic view that Ukraine’s success in its war efforts against Russia is paramount to building a robust European security and defense policy.

Sweden is using the EU’s Strategic Compass, which is tailored to provide a shared strategic threat assessment of the challenges the bloc faces, as its guiding light. In particular, Stockholm is keen to deepen EU defense cooperation with NATO and develop a long-term capital investment program to bolster European defense.

Achieving a more meaningful level of pan-EU collaboration within the cybersecurity domain has emerged as one of Sweden’s critical targets. This goal gained traction on Jan. 3, when the European Commission (EC) presented a far-reaching Joint Communication (JC) for an EU common cyber defense policy to the European Parliament.

The proposal would help boost the bloc’s cyber defense posture, said Pål Jonson, Sweden’s defense minister.

“The ambition is to strengthen the EU’s cyber defense capabilities, as well as give individual states the tools to conduct joint cyber operations. It will also improve inter-state coordination, information sharing and interoperability between cyber security and cyber defense, including between the civil and military cyber communities,” said Jonson.

Gerard O'Dwyer is the Scandinavian affairs correspondent for Defense News.

赫尔辛基——瑞典于1月1日开始担任欧盟轮值主席国，为期半年，其宗旨是更加明确地强调深化成员国在国防能力和联合军事采购等关键领域的合作。

瑞典首相乌尔夫·克里斯特松领导的温和党联合政府在 2022 年 9 月的议会选举后当选执政，该政府已将“目标一致”以及加强欧洲防务准备和能力确定为担任轮值主席国期间的首要目标。

在俄罗斯和乌克兰之间持续战争的背景下，瑞典倾向于采用能够推进欧洲集体防御的解决方案，这些方案使用的武器和盟军军事装备不仅在欧盟制造，而且是根据联合采购安排获得的。

瑞典担任欧盟轮值主席国期间的框架重点在于继续向乌克兰提供欧盟经济和军事支持。作为莫斯科长期敌对威胁的目标，瑞典体现了北欧国家的观点，即乌克兰在对抗俄罗斯的战争中取得成功对于构建强大的欧洲安全和防务政策至关重要。

瑞典正以欧盟的战略指南针为指导，该指南针旨在对欧盟面临的挑战进行共同的战略威胁评估。特别是，斯德哥尔摩方面热切希望深化欧盟与北约的防务合作，并制定一项长期资本投资计划以加强欧洲防务。

在网络安全领域实现更具意义的欧盟内部合作已成为瑞典的关键目标之一。1月3日，欧盟委员会向欧洲议会提交了一份意义深远的欧盟共同网络防御政策联合通告，这一目标也因此获得了更多关注。

瑞典国防部长帕尔·约翰逊表示，该提议将有助于提升欧盟的网络防御态势。

“我们的目标是加强欧盟的网络防御能力，并为各个成员国提供开展联合网络行动的工具。此外，它还将改善国家间的协调、信息共享以及网络安全和网络防御之间的互操作性，包括民用和军用网络界之间的互操作性，”约翰逊说。

杰拉德·奥德怀尔是《防务新闻》的斯堪的纳维亚事务记者。