STOCKHOLM, Sept 17 (Askume) – NATO’s newest member Sweden plans to raise defence spending by 13 billion crowns ($1.3 billion) to a total of $138 billion in the 2025 national budget, Defence Minister Pal Jonsson said on Tuesday.
Military spending will rise from 2.2% of GDP this year to 2.4% by 2025 and is expected to reach 2.6% in 2028, Jonsson said at the press conference.
Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a historic policy U-turn in previously militarily non-aligned Sweden, which joined NATO this year and vowed to further boost its military budget.
The center-right government coalition, which relies on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, will present the 2025 budget bill to parliament on Sept. 19.
(1 USD = 10.1579 SEK)
