Sweden parliament backs US$31bil borrowing to boost defence
The parties in the Swedish parliament have been negotiating the defence deal in recent months. (EPA images pic)
STOCKHOLM : Sweden's government said today that all parties in parliament have agreed to back its plan to invest heavily in the rearmament of the country's civil and military defence, and to pay for it with loans of up to SEK300 billion (US$31 billion).
'Sweden is in a very serious security situation,' defence minster Pal Jonson told a press conference.
'It is therefore very good that we can present a broad and long-term political agreement on very big defence investments in the coming years,' Jonson said.
The parties have been negotiating the defence deal in recent months.
'Under the new defence agreement, Sweden plans to raise military defence spend to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2032 at the latest,' Jonson said.
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