Relationship dossier
Czech Republic
Sweden
Relationship assessment
Czech-Swedish relations are cooperative, with defense ties centered on the Gripen lease.
Czech Republic toward Sweden
+45The Czech government has maintained a lease of Swedish-made Gripen fighters and supported Sweden’s accession to NATO, reflecting practical defense cooperation and political support.
Sweden toward Czech Republic
+45The Swedish government has supplied Czechia with Gripen fighters through a lease arrangement, which was extended in 2014, providing a sustained basis for defense cooperation.
Overall relationship
+45A durable defense relationship, particularly the Gripen lease, is the main concrete bilateral feature. Cooperation is reinforced by shared participation in European and transatlantic institutions, including NATO after Sweden’s accession, though the relationship’s wider bilateral scope is less clear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Czech-Swedish relations include sustained defense cooperation centered on the Czech Republic’s lease of Swedish-made Gripen fighters, with the arrangement extended in 2014. Czech support for Sweden’s NATO accession and shared work within European and transatlantic institutions reinforce the relationship. The strongest concrete bilateral cooperation is in defense; its wider scope is less clear.
Key developments
The Czech Republic began leasing Swedish-made Gripen fighters under a government-to-government arrangement.
The Gripen lease arrangement was extended.
The Czech Republic supported Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of bilateral cooperation beyond defense is unclear.
- The implementation and future terms of the Gripen lease arrangement are uncertain.