Sweden Set to Join NATO Brigade in Latvia
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Riga, Dec 13 (NationPress) Swedish lawmakers have sanctioned the nation's enduring involvement in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s multinational brigade stationed in Latvia, as per details from the Latvian Defense Ministry.
Sweden intends to send a mechanized infantry battalion comprising up to 600 personnel to augment the multinational unit in Latvia. The arrival of Swedish forces is planned for the start of 2025, representing Sweden's inaugural deployment to another allied nation since joining NATO in March 2024.
Upon becoming a member of the alliance, Sweden expressed its commitment to contributing a combat battalion to the NATO multinational brigade in Latvia.
At present, the NATO brigade in Latvia includes troops from 13 member states: Albania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Latvia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
In a related development, on Thursday, European NATO members initiated discussions regarding a strategy to progressively raise defense spending to 3 percent of GDP by 2030, as reported by Xinhua, citing the Financial Times.
Preliminary discussions occurred during last week’s foreign ministers’ meeting, where members predicted a short-term commitment to achieve 2.5 percent and a target of 3 percent by 2030.
The report indicates that a decision may be reached at the upcoming NATO summit, scheduled for June 2025 in The Hague.
The existing goal, established in 2014, is 2 percent of GDP. The report also noted that raising it to 3 percent would exert significant pressure on already strained national budgets.
Currently, seven European NATO members, including Italy and Spain, have not met the 2 percent target in 2024. Germany achieved this goal for the first time this year.
The push for increased defense spending coincides with the upcoming inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has been urging Europe to contribute more toward its own security, set to take office in January.
