Published 18 June 2024 at 09.17
Domestic. In silence, the government, via the so-called DCA agreement, allows the US to more or less militarily occupy Sweden. At the same time, an overwhelming majority of the Swedish people, 84 percent, say no to foreign powers being allowed to place military and military equipment on Swedish military bases without Swedish oversight. But three out of four don't even know about the agreement.
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Just over seven out of ten Swedes also believe that Sweden should not enter into military cooperation agreements which mean that Sweden renounces the right to deny nuclear weapons being placed on Swedish soil, according to the survey carried out by Novus on behalf of the Swedish Peace Council.
In the agreement that the Swedish government has recently negotiated with the USA, there are no guarantees against the USA placing nuclear weapons on Swedish soil during peacetime without Swedish consent. There has been no debate about the agreement – which has been described as the biggest departure from Swedish military sovereignty in hundreds of years – in practice and the whole thing has been hushed up in the media.
Novu's survey also shows that more than seven out of ten Swedes say they don't know or say no to foreign powers being allowed to use Swedish territory for attacks on third countries.
Today, the Riksdag will vote on the so-called DCA agreement, which the Swedish government has negotiated with the United States. The agreement means, among other things, that the US will have the exclusive right to dispose of military areas at 17 Swedish military bases, where Swedish authorities waive the right to access. In practice, this means that these areas become part of the territory of the United States. The agreement also gives military police from the United States the right to repel any perceived threat to these exclusive areas anywhere in Sweden – and even by force of arms – without Sweden being able to prevent it.
In addition, the agreement gives the United States the right to move its soldiers between the bases on Swedish soil, in Swedish airspace and Swedish waters without the Swedish authorities needing to be informed, let alone be able to say no to such movements.
At the same time, the survey shows that roughly three out of four Swedes do not even know what DCA is, while a large majority is against the main content of the agreement.
“With a massive Swedish public opinion behind him, Sweden's Peace Council the Swedish Riksdag not to approve the DCA agreement with the USA”, writes Sweden's Peace Council in a press release.
Summary of the survey
● Just over five out of six (84% ) believes that foreign powers should not be allowed to place military and war material on Swedish military bases without Swedish approval.
● Just over seven out of ten (72%) believe that Sweden should not enter into military cooperation agreements that renounce the right to deny nuclear weapons to be placed on Swedish soil.
● Only three out of ten (29%) believe that foreign powers should be allowed to use Swedish territory for attacks on third countries – while a majority, just over five out of ten (53%) says no. About one in five (18%), state that they do not know.
● Just over three in four (76%) do not know what DCA is.