"The Stoltenberg report's proposal for a Nordic solidarity clause has a touch of poetry about it, a touch of the 'all-for-one-and-one-for-all'," he added before stressing that closer Nordic co-operation will not compete with NATO. He also put the leading role played by the United Nations beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Many of the members of the Nordic Council praised the report as an important basis for future discussions. "Work has commenced on looking at the specific proposals," Skarphéðinsson added. Erkki Tuomioja MP from Finland was one of the few to make critical remarks about the report.

"The description of a Nordic solidarity clause as somewhat poetic is incredibly beautiful and apposite. But the beauty of any text can be drained out of it when it has to be turned into a legally binding commitment. The Stoltenberg report says nothing about money or costs, and those are important factors in a time of financial crisis," he said.

The Norwegian foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, did not share Tuomioja's views. "We are currently engaged in the most interesting and dynamic discussion about Nordic defence policy for many years. The idea behind the Stoltenberg report was precisely to look 10-15 years into the future, broaden the horizons of the debate and look further ahead than the governments are able to at present," he said, before adding that he hopes that all of the proposals contained in the report will be discussed in the Region in the future.

"We will have to discuss the solidarity clause every year. New points of view may arise about how to formulate such a clause, e.g. in the wake of the EU's Lisbon Treaty coming into force," he pointed out.