As a recent poll shows that six in 10 Swedish people support joining NATO alongside neighbour Finland, leading Swedish MEP Tomas Tobé tells FRANCE 24 why he backs ending two centuries of military neutrality in Sweden. "It is clear that Sweden needs to build security together with others. It is clear that Putin's aggression will not stop with Ukraine. We will have to take responsible decisions for Sweden. For me it is clear that we need the security that NATO membership will provide. I do not think that we should be neutral against Putin. The time for Sweden to be neutral is long past. It's important now that Sweden together with Finland make the decision to join NATO."
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, with significant loss of civilian life in Ukraine, warnings are being sounded about the knock-on effects of the conflict on people far from Europe. This is due to the massive hit to food production and exports from Ukraine and Russia – two countries that together provide more than 750 million people, in 27 countries, with over half of their total wheat needs.
Tomas Tobé is Chair of the European Parliament's Development Committee. He admits he is "extremely worried", saying: "We had extreme problems with hunger in the world even before the invasion of Ukraine, and the war [… The EU] really need to step up our action, increase production within and outside of Europe."
As the European Commission tells farmers that to help boost production they can work land that's currently left aside for environmental reasons, Green activists are pointing out the importance of leaving some land aside to recover each season. Tobé contends that "we need to be pragmatic", saying: "We are in an extreme situation. We have a war in Europe. If we do not do this, this will actually mean that people will die of hunger."
We also discuss the situation of Ukrainian refugees, of which more than 70,000 are expected to arrive in Sweden in the coming months.
Produced by Georgina Robertson, Sophie Samaille, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero
The action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.
