Sweden hoists its flag at NATO and will join Canadian brigade in Latvia
Under a heavy, rain-soaked Belgian sky, Sweden's flag was raised Monday at NATO headquarters in Brussels to formally mark its new status as a full member of the western military alliance.
The event was witnessed by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who led a delegation in Brussels that included cabinet ministers, Sweden's military comman‐ der-in-chief and the nation's Crown Princess Victoria.
Joining NATO was the "on‐ ly reasonable choice" after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kristersson said in prepared remarks delivered in front of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
"After more than 200 years of military non-align‐ ment, this is a historic step. But also, a very natural step," Kristersson said. "We have been preparing for decades, and in detail the last two years.
"With this membership, Sweden has come home."
Sweden's official entry in‐ to NATO last Thursday - mak‐ ing it the 32nd member of the alliance - was held up for almost two years by Turkey and later Hungary, both of which presented a variety of objections.
Its neighbour, Finland, ap‐ plied at the same time as Sweden and was accepted in‐ to the alliance last year.
Following the flag-raising ceremony, NATO released an in-house video showing Finnish Army tanks and Swedish Army mechanized infantry taking part in the al‐ liance's exercise Nordic Re‐ sponse 2024, which is taking place in Norway and is meant to showcase NATO's ability to move forces rapidly across al‐ lied borders.
More than 20,000 troops from 13 NATO countries are taking part in the training.
Swedish Minister of De‐ fence Pål Jonson was quoted in the alliance video saying his country brings a lot to the table, not only in terms of land power.
"I think we have unique competence in operating on the Baltic Sea. We have sub‐ marines. We have surface combatants," Jonson said. "We have this sub-Arctic ca‐ pabilities. I think with Sweden, Finland and Norway cooperating, we're going to keep the alliance stronger here."
The formal acceptance of Sweden has military signifi‐ cance for Canada.
The Nordic country plans to send a reduced battalion to join the Canadian-led multinational brigade in Latvia, part of NATO's mis‐ sion to deter Russia in east‐ ern Europe.
The head of the Canadian military's operational com‐ mand told CBC News last De‐ cember that planning was underway for the Swedes to become part of the forma‐ tion.
Sweden's top military commander, Gen. Micael By‐ dén, recommended to the government in Stockholm in 2022 that the country com‐ mit troops to one of the NATO battle groups once the process of joining NATO was completed.
A think-tank, the Stock‐ holm Free World Forum, con‐ ducted a detailed analysis. In a report presented last sum‐ mer, the forum said that there would be a "strategic benefit to placing Swedish troops under the Canadianled force based on the com‐ mon interests of Sweden and Canada."
In a speech in January, Kristersson outlined plans to deploy a "reduced battalion" to the brigade, which is ex‐ pected to be fully operational next summer.
In a statement, the Swedish Armed Forces said that Sweden and Denmark will take turns leading a bat‐ talion that will form part of the Canadian-led brigade in Latvia.
The Danish and Swedish troops will replace each other every six months, Janes De‐ fence News reported in Janu‐ ary, noting that the first Swedish unit - of 600 soldiers - had been designated al‐ ready and will deploy in 2025.