Sweden institutes military draft for both men and women
Associated PressCOPENHAGEN, Denmark — Sweden’s left-leaning government instituted a military draft for both men and women Thursday because of what its defense minister called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden. But the armed forces lack 1,000 active troops as well as 7,000 reservists, according to Sweden’s coalition government of Social Democrats and Greens. In 2015, Sweden’s military expenditure dropped to 1.1 percent of its gross domestic product, down from 2.5 percent in 1991 as the Cold War came to an end, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. On Tuesday, Micael Byden, head of Sweden’s armed forces, said an additional 6.5 billion kronor, or a 15 percent budget boost, was needed to increase the country’s military’s capabilities in the coming years.
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