But then the Baltic Sea became instead a moat dividing those that were free and those that were oppressed. When the iron curtain was torn down one of the most important effects for Sweden and the Swedish people was the re-establishment of those links of the past. Common security is a precondition for stable peace and security, in the Baltic region and elsewhere. Stability and security in the region require that each individual country feels secure. This means that each country must have the right to freely choose its own line of security policy, collective defense or nonparticipation in military alliances.
Security has to be built and consolidated in co-operation.
Stable peace and security does not just concern, or even chiefly concern, military security. Therefore the Baltic region has to become one of the world's most dynamic growth regions. Social security and a measure of prosperity for all produce stable democracy and, in that respect, constitute preconditions for lasting security. Functioning social policies in all countries around the Baltic Sea are crucial for the development of our region. Sweden's commitment to the Baltic region is based on this view of common security and solidarity.