Sweden Drops Neutrality And Gets Nato’s First Logistics Base

Sweden has slammed nan brakes connected 200 years of subject neutrality, and now it’s rolling retired nan invited mat for NATO’s first-ever logistics hub connected its soil.

Defence Minister Pål Jonson announced that nan caller guidelines will beryllium built successful Enköping, northwest of Stockholm, pinch NATO planners already plotting really to move tanks, fuel, and ammunition crossed Northern Europe quicker than a Volvo down nan E4 motorway.

‘NATO beingness successful Sweden strengthens our information and deterrence. The logistics centre assists nan defence of NATO’s bluish flank,’ Jonson said successful a connection connected Thursday.

From flat-pack furnishings to flat-pack firepower

What IKEA did for wardrobes, NATO hopes Sweden will now do for warfare supplies. The tract will commencement small – about 70 unit successful peacetime – but successful nan arena of situation aliases all-out war, it could balloon to 160 staff, coordinating a subject assembly statement of troops, fuel, spare parts and dense weaponry.

Jonson told nationalist broadcaster SVT nan base’s occupation would beryllium to “transport ample amounts of instrumentality and unit crossed Swedish territory,” ensuring NATO forces tin shuffle soldiers and hardware with speed if Russia turns up the unit successful nan region.

Why it matters

This isn’t conscionable astir bricks and mortar, it’s astir history. Sweden, erstwhile fiercely proud of sitting connected nan sidelines, ditched its centuries-old stance of subject non-alignment aft Russia’s sadistic penetration of Ukraine. It formally became NATO’s 32nd personnel successful March 2024.

Now, conscionable complete a twelvemonth later, Stockholm is hosting 1 of NATO’s astir important backroom operations – a move that sends a crystal-clear connection to Moscow.

What happens next

Sweden’s equipped forces person been tasked pinch getting nan office afloat operational by nan extremity of 2027. Until then, nan building cranes and subject planners will be working manus successful glove to make sure Sweden isn’t conscionable a caller personnel of NATO, but a cornerstone of its bluish defences.

Or, arsenic NATO mightiness put it: flat-pack neutrality is out. Flat-pack logistics is in.

From Stockholm’s streets to icy feats, our Swedish news section can’t beryllium beat.

And, for headlines that roam crossed nan Eurozone, effort our European news section.