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.