(Adnkronos) – Sweden has announced an agreement with Estonia to rent up to 600 prison cells, intended for Swedish prisoners who could thus serve their sentences abroad. The Scandinavian country has seen an increase in crimes in recent years, which has put a strain on the prison system. According to the agreement, which, if approved, will enter into force from 1 July 2026, Sweden will be able to use 400 cells in the Tartu prison, in south-eastern Estonia. The latter is a country that the Swedish Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, has defined as “a very important and close partner”, underlining how both nations share the same international commitments regarding the treatment of prisoners.
“There are excellent conditions for deeper cooperation between Sweden and Estonia,” said Strömmer, specifying that one of the guiding principles in the negotiations with Estonia is to ensure that the conditions of detention are “as similar as possible” to those provided for in Sweden. The Minister of Justice concluded by saying that he hopes to sign the agreement with his Estonian counterpart, Liisa-Ly Pakosta, “within a few weeks”. However, the implementation of the agreement will require changes to Swedish legislation and approval by three-quarters of the parliament, but several opposition parties and the unions representing prison system workers have already expressed skepticism or opposition to the plan.
