Response to interpellation 2023/24:755 on infrastructure upgrades in Jämtland County
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers the upgrading of infrastructure in Jämtlands län to be urgent, pressing, and critical to meet the needs of the total defense 1 2 3. KD emphasizes that the government is working at a high pace with the Armed Forces and that the maintenance of roads is a prioritized cornerstone 2 3. KD argues that investments in maintenance provide dual-use for both civilian and military purposes 3. KD argues that it is important to work closely with Nato to enable co-financing 3. KD considers that the needs of the total defense must be included in the national plan 3. KD argues that the government has already acted promptly by expediting the mission for northern Sweden 4. S argues that there is a risk that things will drag on and that there is danger in delays 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Kalle Olsson has asked me if I will take the initiative to accelerate the upgrading of important infrastructure in Jämtlands län and other strategically important areas to meet the needs of the total defense in light of the serious global situation.
The transport sector needs to be developed and its capacity strengthened to be able to maintain society-critical functions, both during different types of peacetime crises and during high alert or war. It is essential.
NATO membership and the development of host nation support will have a significant impact on the transport sector and the authorities within the sector. Sweden is now a full member of Nato and receives a share of the alliance's operational planning, in terms of requirements, scope, and direction. Sweden is, however, still a new member, and the needs are currently being investigated.
The Government gave Trafikverket the assignment in July 2023 to propose measures to strengthen crisis preparedness and civil defense as well as increase the capacity of the authorities within the transport preparedness sector during heightened preparedness and, ultimately, war (LI2023/02842). The assignment was reported on January 15 this year.
In Trafikverket's account of the assignment, it emerged that the work to develop the capabilities linked to crisis and high alert, just as in other areas, needs to be built on planning documents, research, and experiences from the exercises conducted within the operations and jointly with other actors. It also emerged that it is important to, to the extent possible, analyze and draw lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The basis is now being prepared within the Government Offices, and I am following the work very closely.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer to my interpellation.
Quite precisely one year ago, the Minister and I stood here and debated an interpellation concerning the roads in Jämtlands län. They are often designated as Sweden's worst. I know that the Minister only recently visited Jämtland and Östersund, and he hopefully received a good picture of what I and many before me have often nagged about in this chamber and in other contexts. That is good.
It is a problem in itself that the infrastructure in Jämtlands län is maintained at such a substandard level. It is bad for business development and for rural development. It is generally bad for people in their everyday lives. However, it is not this that this interpellation primarily focuses on. Today, we focus instead on the total defense's need for the infrastructure in Jämtlands län to be upgraded.
If a security crisis, or in the worst case acts of war, were to occur in our part of Europe - in the Baltic Sea region - Jämtland County would become a central point regarding the possibilities of bringing in materiel, personnel, and important supplies. The corridor that we often refer to - from Trondheim, via western Jämtland, to Östersund and then either north, south or further east - was already actualized in 2016 in connection with Sweden entering into host nation support agreements with Nato.
I remind the Minister of this, because from the answer one could get the impression that the government thinks this issue is quite new because it is precisely now that Sweden has joined Nato. I would like to challenge this view a little bit. After all, these are not entirely new perspectives that this is about. The host nation support agreement has had eight years on its back by this point, and the war in Ukraine is now in its third year. That we live in a very grim and difficult security policy environment is not news.
When I last year submitted a written question to the Minister on this theme, regarding measures for strategically important infrastructure in Jämtlands län, I received an answer that it is important to work on these issues. Today we hear the Minister say again that it is important. One might ask, Madam Speaker, how long something can be important without so much happening materially.
I think there are other words that better describe the time we are currently in and the rather limited time window we have right now. One could speak in terms of it being urgent or that it is critical. The reason for this is, of course, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the fact that we live with a great uncertainty regarding what Putin might come up with next.
When it comes to the Armed Forces, I would like to assert that the realization that this is how one must think and work has sunk in. It is urgent and critical - we cannot wait. Nor can we build up pious hopes that better times can wait.
The Minister responded that this is important and that he is following the issue closely, but it was not an answer to my question. My question was: Will the Minister work to accelerate the upgrading of strategically important infrastructure in Jämtlands län? Accelerate is a central word here.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! This is not, first and foremost, a semantic question. This is both urgent, pressing, and critical, and that is why we are working at a high tempo and very closely with the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence. I dare say that the ministry I work in has not, in many years, if ever, worked so closely and integrated with the Ministry of Defence. My ministry also has access to the Armed Forces' identified needs.
One can observe, as I did in a previous interpellation debate here this morning, that the Defence Preparedness Board has pointed out the need to reinforce in a west-east direction, from the port in Trondheim, further across Swedish territory to Jämtland and Sundsvall and from there, just as Kalle Olsson touched upon, either north, south or out into the Baltic Sea. This is an important part of integrating the transport system with the different modes of transport to have a good capability. It was also this that was practiced during the exercise Immediate Response. It took place a bit further north, but it is equally urgent to the south. Trondheim is both to the east and to the south. This also applies to the east from the Oslo area, and there are connections to the port of Gothenburg. The Defence Preparedness Board also points out that it is important with reinforcement in a west-east direction over the Öresund.
We have worked very closely with the Ministry of Defence and the Swedish Armed Forces on this, actually, since we took office. It is now that Sweden has become a member of Nato that Sweden has access to the regional plans and gains insight into them. This is what the answer reflects, Madam Speaker. We are, of course, aware of the steps that have been taken previously and that the security policy situation is very uncertain, which makes this type of measures very urgent. They are critical, and there is a hurry—I agree with the member on that. It is not really about the choice of words, but it is about getting strong momentum in the issues.
That is why we gave Trafikverket a special assignment to develop proposals for measures to strengthen crisis preparedness and civil defense and to increase the capacity during high alert and, ultimately, war, parallel to the assignment to develop orientation material, so that we can include it in the work with the new national plan.
In the work of preparing the orientation documents, the government included the needs of the total defense, which have not been included in the latest national plans. It is of course important to include this when resources in the infrastructure are to be allocated and prioritized.
Maintenance of the road and railway network is also completely crucial to maintain capability, also in light of the question the member posed in his interpellation regarding how capability is ensured as well as how opportunity and capacity for host nation support, troop movements, and equipment movements are secured.
Jämtland - and also Sweden, if one zooms out - has a central role and will be centrally located when it comes to NATO's capability regarding troop movements. We are and will be a transit country for military mobility and maneuverability and for host nation support. Therefore, measures regarding road maintenance in Jämtland are central. This was part of what I, while on-site in Östersund and the surrounding area, had the opportunity to see and take part in the day before yesterday. I also got to see Trafikverket's work with road maintenance, which there is undoubtedly an opportunity to expand and develop. That is why the government prioritizes the maintenance. This has been a priority since the first day and the first government statement. It is and will, of course, continue to be a cornerstone in the work of prioritizing in the national plan, Madam Speaker.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer, even though I perhaps do not perceive a clear answer to the question of whether the Minister will accelerate these processes. I hear the Minister referring back to the national plan and saying that the conclusion is that these strategic issues shall be handled within that framework, within the usual decision-making process. In that case, there is at least a fairly large risk that it will take time.
Madam Speaker! It may be true that it often takes time to build a new siding for an industry or to maintain a not so heavily trafficked road. It can take a frustratingly long time. But what we are talking about here is time that we potentially do not have, because we live in the world we do.
If the government were to choose to really accelerate these processes and force the work, it would still take time. It is actually in the nature of the matter. We can take the Inlandsbanan as an example. It runs partly through Jämtlands län, in the inland, and it is well known that the Armed Forces have expressed a strong interest in being able to utilize that line in various types of contexts. It is also well documented that the Inlandsbanan has large maintenance needs. It is about replacing the rails, reinforcing bridges, and so on, with a price tag of perhaps more than 10 billion. It is a matter of a lot of money, large investments, and a large undertaking. Even if the government were to press the button for the Inlandsbanan today, it would therefore take a very long time.
If we then add these different issues - upgrading the Inlandsbanan, strengthening the load-bearing capacity for bridges and roads in Västjämtland, perhaps making airport-related investments, investing in staging areas; the list can become quite long just in my home county, Jämtlands län - we realize that it is a time-consuming task, even if one chooses to fast-track the whole thing. It is not something that is done overnight.
Therefore, I return to my original question. Can the Minister clarify whether this type of important investment will be handled within the framework of the national plan, which has its own set timeline, or if there is a plan for some kind of fast-track?
Madam Speaker! I have an additional question, partly naturally on the same theme. Can the Minister reflect on the competition that, after all, still risks arising between infrastructure investments for peacetime needs and infrastructure investments for the needs of the total defense? Sometimes one can be lucky that these two interests coincide, but that is not always the case.
Just the other day, we could hear representatives for MSB talk about calculations regarding the strengthening of war-important infrastructure. 20 billion per year over several years, MSB spoke of then. For a county like Jämtland, this question becomes very important, because the allocation of funds to the county today is so vanishingly small while the needs are so great.
Can the Minister assure us that we will not get these types of displacement effects – that it is not the potholes, as the Minister speaks of, or the maintenance of the important minor roads in a county like Jämtland that risk being sidelined by the type of investments we are talking about today?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank you very much for the questions. I received several questions, and I will try to answer them all. There is certainly a chance to return to them if I should miss any.
It is of course important to see what measures could be expedited so that they have an effect in the relatively short term, given that the need for upgrading is palpable. Then we return to the maintenance and the potholes, which involve a reduction in capability regarding the possibility of moving troops and materiel in an east-west direction. With a reinforcement that allows maintenance to be done faster, one also increases the capability, which means there are dual areas of application for the investments.
The question of competition between civil purposes and defense purposes is very relevant. When it comes to the possibility of co-financing, it is possible to use dual-use within the EU's military mobility pot in the CEF funds. That possibility, as far as we know now, is not non-existent regarding Nato co-financing via NSIP. This was something I had a discussion about last week at Nato headquarters with both the assisting secretary-general and officials. But it is the military capability that is decisive for whether objects and investments qualify for co-financing from Nato. The total for co-financing is 1.34 billion euros in 2024, approximately 15 billion kronor. Even if we were to receive the entire allocation, the money would not cover all needs in Sweden. There is competition even for those funds.
The regional plans are now being developed for the Swedish part within the Nato membership. Here, it is important to work closely with Nato and be clear about which needs we see and that the Swedish defense sees, and of course gain an insight into the regional plans and be involved in developing them. It is an important part to enable co-financing, and it answers to some extent the question of competition.
But before the Riksdag has reached a decision on the infrastructure bill for the national plan and thus on how large the framework shall be for infrastructure, I cannot stand here and guarantee that this will not result in competition. There will be greater needs than the framework we will receive and the co-financing for. Therefore, it is important both to maintain a high pace and to make careful and well-considered prioritizations that strengthen defense capability and, to the greatest extent possible, also strengthen the transport of goods and commuting for civilian purposes.
I do not rule out that some of the measures that are pure defense investments need to be taken faster or alongside the national plan. But the national plan is an important part to achieve a holistic view. That is why the total defense's needs must be included there, so that those priorities can be made.
It is not that anything by definition needs to be placed far ahead in the national plan when it is received, but it can be moved forward. Just maintenance measures, not least on the roadside, are such things that can be implemented quite quickly. Without anticipating the process in the Riksdag, Madam Speaker, I foresee that it can be heavier regarding maintenance during the first years than it has been in recent years. This would also follow the prioritization that the government makes regarding just the maintenance of the road and railway network. It is a supporting part in the capacity increase. It is therefore connected, Madam Speaker.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! The point of this interpellation was not to obtain an exact list from the Minister on what the government intends to do moving forward, but rather the point was to obtain this acknowledgment that we live in the security policy environment we do and that it is urgent to move forward. The Minister speaks of progress.
The national plan is decided by this chamber in 2026 and then extends to 2037. It is certainly possible to include projects early in the plan, but there is a risk that things will drag on.
I assume that the Minister has read the Defense Committee's latest reports. They are very clarifying in many ways. I would finally like to draw special attention to these sentences: "The construction of the entire total defense is urgent. . The seriousness of the situation requires a different political ambition, a different leadership, and a different approach than the current ones, which have been developed in a completely different security policy situation." A different leadership and a different approach – I truly hope that the Minister takes those formulations to heart. We have passed the point where these were just pressing issues. I believe we can rather say that there is danger in delay.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! That is precisely why the government has acted within the current national plan. We are in no way sitting and waiting until 2026. We have shown this in action by accelerating the assignment for northern Sweden, where investments in the Malmbanan will be in place earlier thanks to the government's clear pointing out. We are also investigating the reserve port capacity on Gotland, not least in view of the deteriorated security situation and Gotland's strategic position for the defense capability in the Baltic Sea. These are assignments that are underway now; Trafikverket is working closely with the defense authorities to establish increased capacity there.
Even regarding redundancy across the Öresund with the railway ferries between Trelleborg and Germany, the government has acted to produce a basis to ensure that capability. It is, of course, central in the event that the Öresund Bridge could not be used for railway traffic.
The government, with the three examples I show here, has acted precisely promptly. It is urgent, pressing, or critical. We can set the words aside. The government has taken action for the transport infrastructure. We have also injected more funds to further strengthen the road sector beyond what is in the national plan. That illustrates it.
Madam Speaker! I do not rule out, as I said, that we may need to do so on more important links and routes in order to increase defense capability in a situation where the transport infrastructure is either a bottleneck or an enabler for the very substantial build-ups that are now being made in Swedish defense and which we are now doing together with others.
Madam Speaker! That is why I myself am acting directly in relation to Nato. My department is working much more closely with the Ministry of Defence than ever before. We have full insight into the Defence Forces' needs. It is important, it is urgent, it is critical, and the government is acting. I thank you for the commitment and the consensus on those issues.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.