“Latvia and Sweden are close allies – we stand united, and we have a strong position on the EU’s continued support to Ukraine, as well as on constraining Russia, including further sanctions against Russia – in order to reduce its revenues that allow it to finance the war of aggression against Ukraine. Latvia and Sweden will continue working together to expand the sanctions regime, including by restricting the activities of the shadow fleet. We also share a common vision as to the development of the European security industry and the need for the EU to invest more, and increasingly rapidly, into its security and defence,” welcoming a visit from the Minister for European Union Affairs of Sweden, Jessica Rosencrantz, underlined the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže.
The Minister for EU Affairs of Sweden, Jessica Rosencrantz, has held the post since 10 September 2024, and this is her first bilateral visit to a NATO member state.
Baiba Braže thanked the Swedish Government for its decision to rotate soldiers of the Swedish Armed Forces to the NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia from 2025 onwards.
The Foreign Minister welcomed the active cooperation in the NB6 format to coordinate joint positions on EU matters, as well as in the NB8 format, especially in the context of support to Ukraine, with the Baltic States and Nordic countries being the second largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine. The officials pledged their readiness to continue providing support to Ukraine, including in the military sector, as well as to restore Ukraine’s energy infrastructure seriously damaged in Russian missile strikes, which is critical as winter sets in. Baiba Braže also pointed out that Latvia strongly supports Sweden’s proposal to the European Commission concerning further work to increase tariffs on Russian and Belarusian imports into the EU, which would reduce Russia’s prospects of gaining revenues.
In a conversation with the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dace Melbārde, the officials addressed the EU’s continued support to Ukraine, topics concerning the EU's competitiveness and security, and the EU enlargement process, highlighting progress made by Ukraine and Moldova. In the run-up to the European Council meeting on 19 and 20 December, officials discussed the EU’s external relations and the transatlantic agenda, as well as the rule of law issues.
Parliamentary Secretary Dace Melbārde noted: “Living at a time when we are confronted with the realities of the war against Ukraine, the EU values and mutual cooperation are of particular importance. Our priority is an economically resilient, competitive and secure Europe. At the same time, attention should be given to strengthening our defence industry and infrastructure as well as resilience at the EU level, including when decisions are made on the EU’s next multiannual budget.”
On the NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia
The lead nation of NATO’s Multinational Brigade Latvia is Canada. The brigade currently consists of over 3,500 troops from 13 countries – Albania, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Iceland, Latvia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Personnel of the Swedish Armed Forces will be also sent to Latvia in the early 2025.
