On September 10, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record strategy session with the Swedish Parliament Committee on Defense.

The Swedish Defense Committee is in the United States to get an American prospective on multiple defense and security issues. The Committee met with the Atlantic Council in order to be briefed on areas of importance to the Committee and Sweden. The event touched upon the development of the alliance and partnerships of NATO and the contribution of Sweden in US alliances to make it more effective. It also touched upon the consequences of the Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia for Europe, and the implications of the sequester in the United States for US strategy and force.

The Swedish Parliament Committee on Defence prepares all legal and financial matters concerning military defence, civil defence, measures to reduce vulnerability in society, nuclear safety and radiation protection and the coastguard service all insofar as these matters do not fall to any other committee to prepare. The Committee on Defence prepares appropriations falling within the expenditure area Defence and contingency measures.