On Tuesday, Swedish MPs will cast their votes on a contentious defense agreement with the US, which some worry might result in the US establishing permanent bases and deploying nuclear weapons on Swedish territory.
A significant step toward joining NATO for a nation that abandoned two centuries of neutrality in March is the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).
The agreement, which was signed in December by Washington and Stockholm, would allow the US to store weapons, ammunition, and military hardware in Sweden as well as have access to 17 military sites and training grounds there.
Opponents say the agreement should state outright that the Scandinavian country will not allow nuclear weapons on its territory.
“The agreement has no limits,” argued Daniel Hellden, co-leader of the opposition Green Party, which together with the Left Party opposes the DCA agreement.
“It opens up nuclear weapons on Swedish soil… And it is so vaguely written that the government could even allow them in peacetime,” he told SR public radio on Monday.
“We’re going to be a target for nuclear weapons. We’re going to have 17 bases where the Americans can store material,” he added.
Supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats, the center-right minority administration led by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has argued that the agreement upholds Swedish sovereignty.
“Sweden is a sovereign nation and it will always be Sweden that decides what type of weapons we allow,” Defence Minister Pal Jonson told SR.
“Parliament has already agreed that we will never need permanent bases or nuclear weapons on Swedish territory and that was specified in our NATO accession,” he added.
