Sweden Is Adapting Its Intelligence Services to Europe’s New Security Architecture

On August 13, the Riksdag of Sweden will consider a government draft law to establish a new Foreign Intelligence Service (Sveriges utrikes underrättelsetjänst, UND). The vote is expected to complete the reform of the Swedish intelligence system, preparations for which have been underway for some time.

The government has already begun organizational changes: it has transferred part of the armed forces’ funding and resources to the future service and has prepared a package of 23 legislative amendments. These amendments establish rules for the processing of personal data, the conduct of foreign intelligence operations, electronic interception, the use of special cover operations, the exchange of information with Swedish and foreign secret services, and the handling of classified information.

According to the draft law, the UND will become a separate civilian government agency that will not be part of the armed forces. The government will determine the main directions of its work, and the results of its activities will be provided to the agencies responsible for foreign policy, security, and the economy.

The new agency will be responsible for human intelligence and technical intelligence collecting, analyzing the information, assessing the intentions and capabilities of foreign states and other external actors, preparing strategic forecasts for the government, cooperating with foreign intelligence services and international organizations, as well as participating in setting tasks for the Swedish Electronic Intelligence Service (FRA).

At the same time, Sweden’s military intelligence agency (MUST) will retain its functions and continue to staff its own units.

According to Western experts, this reform is taking place against the background of European states’ efforts to strengthen their own intelligence capabilities and reduce their dependence on external sources of information. The Netherlands’ government’s coalition agreement for 2026–2030 calls for the creation of a European counterpart to the Five Eyes alliance involving a group of leading countries. In Germany, there are also discussions about deepening cooperation among individual states in intelligence sharing.

The creation of the UND signals a shift in Sweden’s approach to assessing external threats. Whereas the primary focus was previously on analyzing the military capabilities of other states, greater attention will now be paid to political intentions, the decision-making processes of foreign leadership, and their willingness to take risks. At the same time, the reform is intended to streamline Sweden’s cooperation with the civilian intelligence services of other European countries.