Since World War II the Nordic countries have had different relations to international organisations.

Denmark, Iceland and Norway are members of NATO. Denmark, Finland and Sweden are members of the EU.

For most of post-war period, Finland and Sweden have remained firmly non-aligned as a key principle of foreign policy, but have moved closer to NATO and entered into a partnership agreement with the alliance in recent years.

All of the Nordic countries are observers in the Western European Union, VEU.

Existing Co-operation

The Nordic foreign ministers reached agreement on a declaration of solidarity in the area of foreign and security policy between the Nordic countries during their meeting in Helsinki in April 2011.

In the declaration of solidarity the five countries state that, should a Nordic country be affected by a crisis or an attack, the others will assist with relevant means.

The Nordic Region is traditionally active in peace-keeping operations in various parts of in the world.

Recently the emphasis has shifted in the direction of crisis management. The latest joint project was the military force Nordic Battle Group which was formed by Finland, Sweden and Norway along with Estonia and Ireland with allegiance to the EU.

NORDEFCO was founded in 2009, when the Nordic Ministers of Defence signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim to strengthen and streamline Nordic defence co-operation.

NORDEFCO is a complement to, and a natural extension of the above mentioned European and Euro-Atlantic co-operation, but replaces the former Nordic agreements NORDCAPS, NORDAC and NORDSUP.

The purpose of defence co-operation is to strengthen the Participants’ national defence, explore common synergies and facilitate efficient common solutions, which cover the following areas:

• Logistics and maintenance
• Education and exercises
• Operational activities such as air and maritime surveillance
• International operations

The aim of the co-operation is to support the above mentioned areas and to achieve an efficient and cost-effectiveness. NORDEFCO should also work towards a common understanding of issues relating to the Nordic defence co-operation.

Future areas of co-operation

Thorvald Stoltenberg, former Norwegian minister for both defence and foreign affairs, presented the report “Nordic co-operation on foreign and security policy”.

13 tangible proposals to strengthen Nordic co-operation were presented in the report. The proposals were presented under the main headings:

• Building peace
• Air surveillance
• Marine surveillance and Arctic issues
• Societal security
• Foreign service
• Military Co-operation

The report was written on the initiative on the Nordic foreign ministers and provided a basis for the Nordic Memorandum of Understanding. NORDEFCO does not presently cover all aspects of the report, which will in the future provide a source of inspiration for further co-operation.

Stoltenberg suggested, for example, that the Nordic countries issue a mutual security political declaration of solidarity in which they commit themselves to clarifying how they would respond if a Nordic country were subject to attack or pressure.