Analysis: A big step, according to representatives of the Swedish government

Military cooperation with Finland is nothing new, but the proposal presented by the government now improves the opportunities for countries to help each other in the event of violations and crisis situations.

Here, among other things, there is the so-called gray zone problem. The conflicts in Georgia, and not least Ukraine and Crimea, show that the border between war and peace can sometimes be difficult to clearly define. Propaganda and disinformation, recurrent border violations, disruptions in electricity supply and communications are all examples of what can happen in the gray zone between peace and war.

These are, among other things, situations that the government wants to prepare for through the Council of Ministers' remit on operational military support between Sweden and Finland. According to the proposal, the government should have the power to deploy Swedish military forces on Finnish territory, for example to support Finland in preventing violations of the country. It could, for example, be Swedish fighter aircraft that assist Finland in trying to ward off airspace violations or Swedish warships participating in submarine hunting.

By giving the government this opportunity without a requirement for decisions in the Riksdag, the purpose is to shorten the time for the decision-making process. In a crisis situation, it can be important to act quickly and by allowing the government to make decisions on its own, the decision-making process is significantly shortened, from days to hours.

With this proposal, the government will continue to seek and develop military cooperation with other countries along the narrow path. According to the government, the deteriorating security policy situation and developments in Russia mean that the need for such cooperation has increased.

Sweden has military cooperation with several countries in addition to Finland, for example the United Kingdom, and in recent years cooperation with the NATO defense alliance has also been developed and deepened.

In the Riksdag, however, there is no majority to apply for membership in NATO. Otherwise, it would give Sweden so-called defense guarantees, that is, guaranteed support in the event of a military attack. Without a membership with such guarantees, the government's strategy is instead to cooperate more with both NATO and individual countries.

However, putting Swedish soldiers into a regular war will continue to require a parliamentary decision.

At the same time, it can be difficult to assess when a serious security-political crisis will turn into an actual state of war. What initially appears to be a territorial violation may soon prove to be the beginning of an armed attack.

The Law Council will now review the Government's proposal and the aim is that the law change will come into force as early as August this year.

On the Finnish side, similar legislation has already been adopted. This means that in similar situations, such as violations, the Swedish government can request military support from Finland.

A big step, says representatives of the Swedish government who have invested a lot of time and energy in various defense cooperation in recent years, including Finland. The critics, however, believe that cooperation with Finland only on the margin affects the countries' defense capabilities. Instead, to discourage a country like Russia requires full NATO membership with reciprocal defense guarantees, for example, consider the Moderates, Liberals and Christian Democrats.

However, the Social Democrats are not prepared to take that route and as long as this message holds, Sweden must seek other military cooperation. It is one of the driving forces behind cooperation with Finland.