Under a new Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with Sweden, the United States will have the right to access military facilities in 17 Swedish locations across the kingdom. The agreement’s text, published on the Swedish government’s website, states: “The US Armed Forces, American counterparts, and their Swedish equivalents… are granted free access to the agreed facilities and territories for visits, training, exercises, and maneuvers… including refueling aircraft and ships, aircraft landing, temporary maintenance of vehicles, aircraft, and ships, and personnel accommodation.”
The agreement enables the US to access training areas, military camps, ports, air bases, and airports in 17 Swedish regions, including Kiruna in the north, Halmstad in the southwest, Ronneby in the southeast, and Visby on Gotland Island.
The Swedish government’s website indicates that for the agreement to take effect, it must be approved by the Swedish Parliament, which also needs to adopt appropriate constitutional amendments. A parliamentary discussion is expected, with the agreement’s implementation later in 2024.
The website also notes that the United States has defense cooperation agreements with many European countries and that Finland and Denmark are currently negotiating similar agreements.
The US and Sweden signed a defense cooperation agreement on Tuesday to expand the defense partnership between the two countries ahead of Sweden’s NATO membership. According to the document, the agreement will be valid before and after Sweden officially joins NATO.
The US State Department stated: “This agreement will allow our countries to enhance cooperation in multilateral security operations and jointly strengthen transatlantic security.”
