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NATO

‘It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as members of Nato’

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Sweden and Finland were committed to working with Turkey to address its concerns over their possible membership in the alliance, saying it was time to welcome them.

Published: 3 November 2022 19:02 CET
'It's time to welcome Finland and Sweden as members of Nato'
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) looks towards NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) after they addressed a press conference following a meeting at The Foreign Ministry in Istanbul, on November 3, 2022. Photo: Ozan Kose/AFP

Ankara has accused the two Nordic nations of providing safe haven to outlawed Kurdish militants it deems “terrorists”.

“I recognise your concerns,” Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul.

He said Finland and Sweden were keen to work closer with Turkey to fight “terrorism”.

“It’s also in their interest,” he said.

“It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of Nato. Their accession will make our alliance stronger and our people safer.”

Cavusoglu in turn said that that Turkey believed that Sweden’s new government was more committed to meeting Turkey’s demands. The most important thing was that the actions laid out in the agreement reached in June between Turkey, Sweden and Finland were taken in full, he said. 

Both countries dropped decades of military non-alignment and scrambled to become Nato members in May,  after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to block their bids, seeking concessions.

In June, Turkey, Sweden and Finland struck a deal which included provisions on extraditions and sharing information.

“Finland and Sweden have delivered on their agreement to Turkey,” Stoltenberg said. “They have become strong partner in our joint fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he added.

“And they are clearly committed to long-term engagement with Turkey to address your security concerns.”

To date, all but Turkey and Hungary  of the 30 Nato member states have ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland.

New members to the alliance require unanimous approval

 Cavusoglu said Stockholm took some steps including the removal of restrictions standing in the way of arms sales to Turkey but added “it’s not possible to say” the July agreement was fully implemented.

“We don’t intend to harm NATO or block its enlargement … we want to see concrete steps,” he said.

Ankara is “more hopeful” that Sweden’s new government will address Turkey’s concerns, Cavusoglu added.

“We knew that the outgoing government could not do much. The new government is decided and the new prime minister is going to visit our country next week,” Cavusoglu said. 

During his visit to Istanbul, Stoltenberg met Cavusoglu, Turkey’s defence minister Hulusi Akar, and other politicians.

“Finland and Sweden have significantly increased their cooperation with Turkey on combatting terrorism,” Stoltenberg said. 

On Friday, Stoltenberg will hold a one-on-one meeting with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Sweden’s new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will visit Ankara next Tuesday for further talks.

 

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MILITARY

EXPLAINED: Is national service compulsory in Sweden?

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently revealed plans to introduce compulsory national service, referencing Sweden as an inspiration for this. But how does national service work in Sweden, and is it compulsory for everyone?

Published: 27 May 2024 15:19 CEST
EXPLAINED: Is national service compulsory in Sweden?

Although Sweden hasn’t formally been involved in a war since 1814, the country has had some sort of conscription system since the 17th century, excluding a seven-year window between 2010 and 2017, where it was scrapped (or more specifically, “suspended in peacetime”).

Historically, it applied to men only, but was extended to include women in 2010.

Is it mandatory?

Yes and no.

When a Swedish citizen turns 18, they receive a letter from The Swedish Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency asking for information on their health, interests and education, in order to determine whether they should be called up for compulsory military service, officially known as värnplikt (“duty to protect”). 

This document is sent out to all Swedes turning 18 in a given year, and it is mandatory to fill this in, with a few exceptions, such as people who receive benefits from the Social Insurance Agency or residential care homes for children and young people (like HVB-hem or SiS-hem).

Having said that, it is by no means every Swede turning 18 in a given year who actually ends up carrying out military service.

In 2023, the agency collected information on 102,286 young people in Sweden turning 18 that year, with 36,420 called up for testing.

If you don’t turn up to these tests, known in Swedish as mönstringen, you can be sentenced to brott mot totalförsvarsplikten or “crime against the total defence obligation”, which carries with it a fine of 2,000 kronor or up to a year in prison.

These tests at the Swedish Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency are mandatory, and include a theory test, a medical examination, eye and colour blindness tests, hearing tests, as well as an EKG test, pulse and blood pressure tests.

You’ll also need to do a general fitness test and a strength test, as well as an interview with a psychologist to determine whether you’re cut out for military training.

Each test will be scored separately, with your total points determining which course within the Swedish armed forces you’ll be assigned to. You’re allowed to express a preference, although you’re not guaranteed to get a position on the course of your choice. Military training (colloquially known as lumpen) takes between 9 and 15 months, depending on the course.

Not everyone who carries out these tests will actually be called up for military training – in 2023, 6,144 (around 6 percent of everyone turning 18 that year) were assigned a course within the Swedish army, where they were joined by an additional 1,166 individuals who had applied of their own accord. 

Those who pass the tests but who aren’t assigned a position in the army are placed in the reserves, alongside people who delayed their conscription (due to their studies, for example). People in this group could be called up to perform military service if Swedish security is placed on high alert.

What about conscientious objectors?

People who for religious or political reasons do not want to use weapons can apply to carry out weapon-free military service or vapenfri tjänst. 

This doesn’t mean that you won’t have to serve at all, but you could be assigned to civil basic training, which essentially means you’d help ensure that important services like healthcare, childcare or the fire services were still running if there was a crisis.

At the moment, there are no civil basic training courses for conscientious objectors running, although the government has the power to reintroduce these.

There is no programme in Sweden similar to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans for 18-year-olds to dedicate one weekend a month volunteering in the community, for example by “delivering prescriptions and food to infirm people”.

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