The Swedish Fortifications Agency has applied to the government for permission to expropriate a property near one of the entrances to the Muskö naval base. The Swedish Armed Forces assess that the property is needed to strengthen protection of the base, primarily against drones.
"The security situation requires us to act and not accept the risk posed by the current ownership of this property. The current circumstances do not benefit Sweden and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), they benefit Russia," says Lieutenant General Carl-Johan Edström, Chief of the Defence Staff.
The application was submitted to the Government Offices on 25 August and was signed by Maria Bredberg Pettersson, Director-General of the Swedish Fortifications Agency. According to the Swedish Fortifications Agency, the agency submitted the application due to the needs of the Swedish Armed Forces.
The property is located near one of the entrances to the Muskö naval base in Haninge garrison (southeast of Stockholm, Sweden). The Swedish Armed Forces state that it has unique conditions for strengthening the defence of the base. According to the agency, it is the only site in the area that it does not control and that would allow it to establish effective protection, primarily against airborne and seaborne drones.
The property is owned by a person with Russian citizenship. According to the Swedish Armed Forces' assessment, the ownership situation constitutes a security threat, and the property therefore needs to be requisitioned to protect the Armed Forces as well as Swedish and allied protected interests.
Defence Minister Pål Jonson writes on X that the deteriorating security policy situation has increased the state's need for access to sites where activities can be conducted in peacetime and which can provide strategic advantages in the event of war.
He also notes that, under current rules, the state can expropriate property needed for, among other things, military defence. The application will now be processed within the Government Offices, and according to Jonson, the matter is a priority.
If the government grants permission for expropriation, a summons application will then be submitted to court, where compensation to the property owner will be determined. In an expropriation, the owner is compelled to transfer the property in exchange for financial compensation.