Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson on the morning of Sunday 7 September, with the two leaders discussing the importance of the relationship between the two countries both bilaterally and through the Joint Expeditionary Force and NATO in order to protect shared interests, according to a readout issued by Downing Street.
The leaders agreed that Russian aggression, both in Ukraine and through hybrid attacks in Europe, emphasised the importance of that close relationship. Burnham reflected on his recent visit to Ukraine and thanked Prime Minister Kristersson for Sweden’s strong support, particularly as Russia has stepped up what the readout described as egregious attacks.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is a British-led grouping of ten northern European nations, bringing together the United Kingdom with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. It is designed to operate either independently or alongside NATO and other partners, with a focus on the High North, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea region, and it has been used in recent years to coordinate activity around the protection of undersea cables and pipelines and the monitoring of shadow fleet tanker movements.
Sweden’s participation in that grouping predates its accession to NATO, which it completed in March 2024 after abandoning a policy of military non-alignment that had held for two centuries. Swedish membership, alongside that of Finland, has substantially altered the alliance’s position in the Baltic and has drawn Stockholm into closer planning arrangements with London on questions of northern European security.
The call also covered economic matters with a defence and energy dimension. The leaders discussed opportunities to drive growth between the two countries, including through Rolls-Royce’s delivery of Swedish small modular reactors. The Prime Minister said the programme was a good example of how both countries could work together to deliver highly skilled jobs and support Sweden’s plans to deliver clean, reliable and secure power.
Rolls-Royce SMR, the company established to develop and build the British small modular reactor design, has been selected by the Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall to supply reactors at the Ringhals site on the country’s west coast. The same design has been chosen for the British small modular reactor programme, and the company has pursued export orders on the basis of a factory-built approach intended to reduce the cost and construction time associated with conventional nuclear plants.
Turning to Europe more broadly, the leaders discussed the British ambition to move closer to the European Union. The Prime Minister said he was focused on driving a closer relationship that delivered for people in both the United Kingdom and Europe, increasing security, boosting opportunity and supporting growth. The two leaders said they looked forward to meeting soon.
So long as there’s No training involved..??