Foreign affairs, defence and security policy may be among the most dynamic areas of co-operation in the Nordic Region but in the eyes of the Nordic Council the national parliaments exert too little influence on this work. At its theme session in Stockholm, the Council proposed several initiatives for a more secure and safe Nordic Region.
The Nordic nations have gradually stepped up co-operation on foreign affairs, defence and security policy since the fall of the Berlin Wall but the parliamentary dimension is too weak, according to the Nordic Council, which advocates even closer co-operation on foreign affairs, defence, civil security and contingency planning for emergencies.
The countries may have different approaches to foreign, defence and security policy – ranging from membership of the EU but not of NATO to membership of NATO but not the EU – but the Nordic Council does not believe that this should be allowed to act as an obstacle to even closer co-operation in these sectors.
"It's all about political will. That's what determines how far we're willing to go," says Marit Nybakk, the President of the Nordic Council, who also underlines the importance of respecting the needs of the different countries for different frameworks for foreign policy and membership of international alliances.
One of the proposals put to the theme session for boosting the parliamentary dimension in defence co-operation is to bring together the Nordic ministers of defence, heads of armed forces and the Presidium of the Nordic Council for an annual roundtable conference in the autumn in collaboration with NORDEFCO (Nordic Defence Co-operation).
"This could act as a real catalyst for future defence solutions. In both political and strategic terms Nordic co-operation is an important part of European and world politics," the President adds.
The Presidium of the Nordic Council also agreed to send a letter to the appropriate ministers in the Nordic countries, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland outlining a variety of proposals to improve civil security and contingency planning for emergencies, including working more closely together in on air-sea rescue under the auspices of NORDRED. Other proposals include joint research and exchanging information and discussing experiences with each other.
"All sorts of events, in the Nordic countries and beyond, have displayed the importance of security policy for the sense of how safe a society feels," Nybakk added, referring in particular to the threat posed by digital attacks and climate change, threats that know no borders. She called on the Nordic countries to work more closely together on these issues too.
Bodil Tingsby
Phone
+45 33 96 03 57
Email
bot@norden.org