Export of war material

The party programme explicitly works to ban arms exports to dictatorships, states that conduct wars of aggression and regimes that commit human rights violations, and wants the world to move towards peace and disarmament. The election manifesto makes Sweden a voice for peace, not for increased militarisation. Expanding the exemption from licensing review to the entire alliance precisely lowers those demands, and the plan therefore supports the counter-proposal's demands.

• banned arms exports to dictatorshipsdecisive»förbjuda vapenexport till diktaturer, stater som för angreppskrig och« (party programme ↗)“ban arms exports to dictatorships, states that conduct wars of aggression and”
• peace and disarmament»Världen behöver gå mot fred, nedrustning« (party programme ↗)“The world needs to move towards peace, disarmament”
• against increased militarisation»Vänsterpartiet anser att Sverige ska vara en röst för fred och rättvisa, inte för ökad militarisering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party believes that Sweden should be a voice for peace and justice, not for increased militarisation.”
• holistic perspective in weapons production»statligt ägande i vapenproduktionen« (party programme ↗)“public ownership in weapons production”

The election manifesto establishes that NATO membership is the best way for Sweden's security, and the plan demands stronger defense cooperation and a strong Swedish defense industry. Extending the exemption from licensing requirements on exports to the alliance and its member states follows from that commitment. The plan's defense of international law weighs against it, but the plan provides no support for stopping this exemption for allies.

• Swedish NATO membershipdecisive»Sverige ska gå med i Nato. Ett svenskt medlemskap i Nato är den bästa vägen för vårt lands säkerhet och Sverige har därför lämnat in sin medlemsansökan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall join NATO. Swedish membership in NATO is the best way for our country's security and Sweden has therefore submitted its membership application.”
• strong Swedish defense industry»Sverige behöver ett robust militärt och civilt folkförsvar, och en stark svensk försvarsindustri.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden needs robust military and civil defense, and a strong Swedish defense industry.”
• deepened defense cooperation»Starkare europeiskt försvarssamarbete.« (party programme ↗)“Stronger European defense cooperation.”
• international law and human rights»Försvar för folkrätten och en regelbaserad världsordning.« (party programme ↗)“Defense of international law and a rules-based world order.”

The plan establishes that Sweden should not export weapons to dictatorships or countries where serious human rights violations occur, and that weapons exports must never undermine work for peace, democratization and human rights. The election manifesto explicitly says no to weapons sales to Turkey. Exempting the entire alliance and its member states from licensing review lowers precisely these requirements. The counter-proposal's opposition to the expansion is therefore supported.

• no weapons export to dictatorshipsdecisive»Sverige ska inte exportera vapen till diktaturer eller länder där allvarliga kränkningar av« (party programme ↗)“Sweden should not export weapons to dictatorships or countries where serious violations of”
• no weapons to Turkey»inte att Sverige ska anpassa sin utrikespolitik efter auktoritära staters krav för kunna att bli medlem i Nato och Sverige ska inte börja sälja vapen till Turkiet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“not that Sweden should adapt its foreign policy after authoritarian states' demands to be able to become a member of Nato and Sweden should not start selling weapons to Turkey.”
• export control's values»får aldrig urholka arbetet för fred, demokratisering och mänskliga rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“must never undermine work for peace, democratization and human rights.”
• democracy requirements in the alliance»Vi vill också att medlemskapet i Nato ska vara förbehållet demokratiska länder.« (party programme ↗)“We also want NATO membership to be reserved for democratic countries.”

The plan establishes that foreign and security policy ultimately aims to protect universal human freedoms and rights and that democracies must not compromise their ideals. A general exemption from permit review that also covers non-democratic states lowers precisely that review. The plan certainly wants to complete NATO membership, but that commitment applies to the defence cooperation, not to export control's value foundation.

• foreign policy for human rightsdecisive»Utrikes- och säkerhetspolitiken syftar ytterst till att värna universella mänskliga fri- och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Foreign and security policy ultimately aims to protect universal human freedoms and rights.”
• do not compromise on democratic ideals»Därför är det särskilt viktigt att vi, medborgare i de demokratiska länderna, inte kompromissar med våra ideal utan förenas i en strävan efter alla människors fri- och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore it is especially important that we, citizens of democratic countries, do not compromise our ideals but unite in striving for all people's freedoms and rights.”
• high demands in trade policy»Ställ hårdare krav på arbetsvillkor, miljö och klimat i handelsavtal.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Set higher demands on working conditions, environment and climate in trade agreements.”
• complete NATO entry»Centerpartiet vill rusta försvaret, stärka Sveriges civila beredskap och fullfölja inträdet i Nato.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Centre Party wants to strengthen defence, strengthen Sweden's civil preparedness and complete entry into NATO.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's overarching commitment is full participation in NATO, which is described as the most important organisation for security and mutual defence; an exemption from permit requirements for the alliance and its member states facilitates precisely that cooperation. The plan's explicit boundary concerns arms exports to dictatorships, which is not overridden by the expansion. The values-based foreign policy speaks partly against it, but does not decide.

• NATO as the core of securitydecisive»Nato är den absolut viktigaste samarbetsorganisationen för säkerhet och ömsesidigt försvar i Europa« (party programme ↗)“NATO is absolutely the most important cooperation organisation for security and mutual defence in Europe”
• deepened NATO cooperation»Sverige ska inom Nato särskilt kunna bidra med den infrastruktur som behövs för att skapa ett nödvändigt och strategiskt djup för försvaret av Finland och Baltikum.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should be able to contribute particularly within NATO with the infrastructure needed to create necessary strategic depth for the defence of Finland and the Baltic states.”
• no arms exports to dictatorships»Sverige ska inte exportera vapen till diktaturer.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall not export arms to dictatorships.”
• values-based foreign policy»Vi kallar det för vad det är: en ny värderingsstyrd utrikespolitik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We call it what it is: a new values-based foreign policy.”

The party programme explicitly establishes that arms exports shall be limited to democratic states and surrounded by careful control, and that exports must not go to states where human rights are systematically violated. A general exemption from licensing requirements for all alliance member states would disable that scrutiny. The counter-proposal's requirement not to lower the standards for democracy and international law therefore follows from the plan, even though NATO commitments and a domestic defence industry pull in the opposite direction.

• arms exports only to democraciesdecisive»Vapenexporten ska begränsas till demokratiska stater och omgärdas av noggrann kontroll.« (party programme ↗)“Arms exports shall be limited to democratic states and surrounded by careful control.”
• export prohibition on human rights violations»Export ska ej gå till offensivt krigförande länder eller till stater där det förekommer systematiska kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Exports must not go to offensively warring countries or to states where systematic violations of human rights occur.”
• human rights as primary goal»Människovärdet ska stå i fokus och arbetet för att skydda och värna mänskliga fri- och rättigheter ska vara ett huvudmål för utrikespolitiken.« (party programme ↗)“Human dignity shall be in focus and work to protect and safeguard human freedom and rights shall be a primary goal of foreign policy.”
• domestic defence industry»Som en följd av försvarets uppgifter krävs en försvarsmateriell kompetens inom landet, vilket förutsätter en inhemsk försvarsindustri.« (party programme ↗)“As a consequence of defence requirements there must be a domestic capability in defence materiel, which requires a domestic defence industry.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan commits to ensuring that Sweden's defence industry and technological expertise benefits all of NATO and that Sweden shall get the maximum possible benefit from its membership. The counter-proposal wants to prevent the exemption from licensing review from being extended to the alliance and its member states, which makes exactly that cooperation more difficult. The plan's requirement for democracy and human rights in foreign policy remains but does not support the stance here.

• defence industry to all of NATOdecisive»Verka för att Sveriges teknologiska kunnande och kompetenta försvarsindustri kommer hela Nato till del« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work to ensure that Sweden's technological expertise and competent defence industry benefits all of NATO”
• full benefit of membership»Sverige ska som medlem i Nato vara en säkerhetsproducent i vårt närområde och även få ut mesta möjliga effekt av medlemskapet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall as a NATO member be a security producer in our neighbourhood and also get maximum possible benefit from its membership.”
• deepened military cooperation»Sverige behöver intensifiera det militära samarbetet i Europa« (party programme ↗)“Sweden needs to intensify military cooperation in Europe”
• democracy in foreign policy»Sverige ska vara en stark röst för frihet, demokrati och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall be a strong voice for freedom, democracy and”

The election manifesto explicitly requires clear sanctions against Turkey and other countries with negative development and that Sweden marks clearly against violations of fundamental freedoms and rights. Exempting the same countries from permit review when exporting military material goes against that line, and the plan moreover wants to uphold the independence of Swedish democracy in such decisions. That the plan at the same time embraces defence cooperation within NATO makes the assessment uncertain.

• sanctions against Turkeydecisive»Sverige bör verka för tydliga sanktioner mot Turkiet, Belarus, Ryssland och andra länder med en negativ utveckling.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should work for clear sanctions against Turkey, Belarus, Russia and other countries with negative development.”
• mark against human rights violations»Sverige ska tydligt markera mot kränkningar av grundläggande fri- och rättigheter och av suveräna staters territorium.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should clearly mark against violations of fundamental freedoms and rights and of sovereign states' territory.”
• voice for democracy and human rights»Vara en tydlig röst för den västerländska demokratimodellen och mänskliga fri- och rättigheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Be a clear voice for the Western democracy model and human freedoms and rights”
• national self-determination»Bejaka och stärka det svenska folkstyrets oberoende« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Embrace and strengthen Swedish democracy's independence”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.