– On Thursday, the government decides to give MSB the task of preparing an activation of the civil service in Sweden. We are going back to a situation where we have a formalized civil duty, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Lessons from Ukraine
According to Carl-Oskar Bohlin, in a first step it is about people with rescue service competence who are deployed with civilian duty within municipal rescue services. MSB estimates that this group includes around 3,000 people.
– We do not know exactly how many may be covered by the duty. We see that the municipal rescue service today is not designed for the demands placed on high alert and ultimately an armed attack. Experience from Ukraine is clear – when it comes to protecting the civilian population, emergency services are put under very heavy pressure, says Bohlin.
Activation of the civil duty
MSB has until 1 March to prepare the activation. In parallel with this, work is underway with a wider activation of the civil duty.
– Those who are placed with civil duty will be allowed to undergo additional training for emergency services during war, says Bohlin.
SVT Nyheter’s reporter Andreas Öbrink on the spot in Sälen asks the minister for civil defense whether in the long run we will be back under the conditions that prevailed during the days of the Cold War, when civil duty included many professional groups, including preschool staff and people who handled the electricity network.
– I think we are heading in that direction, there is broader work going on with the issue of civil duty within the government office, which we will get back to in the near future, says Bohlin.
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