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1972–1989

Nordic, European and global co-operation.

On 1 January 1973, Denmark was the only Nordic country that was a member of the EEC. The Nordic Council of Ministers was set up with the specific intention of maintaining Nordic co-operation.

Anker Jørgensen, the Danish Prime Minister at the time, wrote in a postscript to his published diaries that Denmark did not neglect Nordic co-operation due to EEC membership:

“On the contrary, we tried in a way – and in accordance with the wishes of the other Nordic countries – to build bridges between the Nordic Region and Europe”.

In July and August 1975, Finland hosted the major OSCE conference on security and co-operation in Europe.

At first, its resolutions were mostly considered little more than fine words, but the chapter on human rights, which formed the basis for the Helsinki Declaration, would help to sow “the seeds of freedom” in Eastern Europe.

Contact

Marita Hoydal
Phone: 29692915
The Nordic Region

History of the Nordic region

This history of the Nordic region from the Viking times to the present.
The Nordic Council

The history of the Nordic Council

After the Second World War the politicians of the time strived for stronger international co-operation. This was the time when the United Nations was established, the Council of Europe created and the first steps were taken towards the EU. At the same time there were many discussions on much closer Nordic co-operation. As a result the Nordic Council was formed in 1952.
Nordic Council of Ministers

History of the Nordic Council of Ministers

The Nordic Council of Ministers was established in 1971 after an attempt at Nordic economic co-operation, the so-called Nordek, had failed the year before. Denmark and Norway voted on membership of the EC in 1972, and one of the goals of the Nordic Council of Ministers was to maintain Nordic co-operation, in the event that some of the Nordic countries also became EC members.