Regardless of who wins the presidential election in the US this autumn - NATO is now facing a new reality.
This is emphasized by Defense Minister Pål Jonson ahead of this week's historic summit in Washington.
The road to this point has been winding, but now they have arrived. When Defense Minister Pål Jonson (The Moderate Party) together with, among others, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) enters the meeting rooms in Washington, it is the first time Sweden is participating in a NATO meeting as a full member.
It's a completely different situation now that we have a seat at the table. As a member, we can influence NATO, for example, in the formation of Ukraine support, where Sweden is very high in comparison to the other allies, says Jonson to TT.
When the now 32 NATO countries meet in the American capital, it is, however, in the shadow of the ongoing election campaign, where Joe Biden and Donald Trump are competing for the presidential post.
New situation
The topic will hardly be voluntarily raised by the participating countries, but one question is naturally what will happen to NATO in the longer term - especially since Donald Trump already during his first presidential term expressed great skepticism and even threatened to leave the alliance.
Pål Jonson emphasizes that it is the American people who elect the president, and says he has no opinions on the candidates. However, he sees a different situation for the organization, regardless of whether it becomes Trump or Biden.
Europe will need to prepare to take greater responsibility for the formation of Ukraine support and its own security within the framework of NATO.
During his presidential term 2017-2021, Trump questioned why the US should bear such a large part of the expenses. The Ukraine war has partially changed the situation, and many member countries have increased their contributions. However, there are more factors at play, says the Defense Minister.
We are aware that the US has security challenges in other parts of the world, and therefore it is natural for Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security.
Great need
At the same time, there are expectations from Ukraine that the NATO meeting will provide further information about the requested air defense system Patriot, but also about a possible NATO membership. However, no one expects any answers on the latter in Washington.
Besides air defense, Pål Jonson sees a further great need for Ukraine at present.
They are in a situation where they will likely need to equip 13 different brigades, then they will need different types of armored vehicles.
