Strengthening Nordic Defence Cooperation Is a Welcome Step Forward

The decision by the Nordic defence ministers to launch preparations for a Nordic defence cooperation agreement is a highly welcome and timely initiative. It demonstrates that the Nordic countries are prepared to respond to the changing security environment through even closer cooperation and by strengthening their collective defence as part of NATO.

“The practical defence cooperation among the Nordic countries has advanced rapidly in recent years, but the political and legal foundations of that cooperation have not developed at the same pace. It is therefore very positive that the defence ministers have decided to begin preparing a new cooperation agreement,” says Jouni Ovaska, Chair of the Centre Group.

Ovaska notes that reforming the Helsinki Treaty, the foundational agreement for Nordic cooperation, has been examined on several occasions, but progress in the fields of security and defence policy has been modest compared with the profound changes in the security environment.

“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the NATO membership of all Nordic countries have fundamentally changed the conditions for Nordic cooperation. For that reason, the structures and treaty framework of our cooperation must also be updated to reflect the realities of today.”

Defence cooperation within the framework of NORDEFCO has enabled significant practical progress under the existing treaty framework. However, the defence ministers’ latest decision demonstrates that there is also a need to strengthen the institutional structures and legal foundations of Nordic defence cooperation.

According to Ovaska, this is also the right moment to advance another proposal that has long been under discussion: the launch of a Nordic Defence Commission.

“The Nordic Council has previously recommended the establishment of a Nordic Defence Commission, and a similar initiative has also been put forward in the Swedish Parliament. It would be both timely and justified to bring together representatives of governments and parliaments to assess what common security and defence solutions the Nordic region will need in the decades ahead.”

“We want to strengthen Nordic cooperation in practical terms, but we also need a shared strategic vision for the direction in which our cooperation should develop. A Nordic Defence Commission would provide an appropriate forum for that work.”

“The defence ministers’ initiative is an excellent start. The next step should be a broader political discussion on how we can build the world’s strongest and most cohesive security community in the Nordic region,” Ovaska concludes.