Security together

20.07.14 | News
Militärövining
Photographer
Johannes Jansson/norden.org
2013 was the year that the Nordic countries, with broader parliamentary support than ever before, collaborated to make the Nordic Region the most secure region in the world.

Finland's Minister for Defence, Carl Haglund, looks back on many successes in 2013, the year that Finland's presidency of the Nordic defence co-operation NORDEFCO successfully gathered long-term political priorities into a vision.
"The vision emphasises the Nordic countries’ will both to deepen co-operation and to set clear goals for the year 2020. It is a concrete and well-needed tool for long-term planning and also provides the Nordic armed forces concrete and long-term political control", says Haglund.

According to Haglund, the Nordic Council has contributed a new dimension in political control, a parliamentary support system for co-operation in NORDEFCO.
"This has forced us to think about popular support for co-operation and reminded us that increased transparency should be a natural part of all Nordic joint projects. This development has helped me as President to ensure that parliamentarians in my home country have been aware of the presidency programme throughout the year. Corresponding developments have taken place in the other Nordic countries which have given a positive nudge to all of NORDEFCO", says Haglund.

Major synergies

Ari Puheloinen, Chief of Defence of the Finnish Defence Forces, sees in NORDEFCO's vision the political goals he himself called for at the roundtable talks organised by the Nordic Council and NORDEFCO in September. He is now looking forward to Nordic co-operation, military as well as political, which after several years of well-functioning pragmatism also deals with the difficult questions on the negotiating table.

"Many Nordic citizens understand that one advantage of Nordic defence co-operation is joint material procurement. But it is in the most complicated co-operation, around capabilities, where the greatest financial benefits can be drawn", says Puheloinen.

Aerial surveillance over Iceland

MP Höskuldur Þórhallsson is for his part encouraged by the constructive spirit of co-operation around Nordic defence policy. As a Nordic Council delegate, he is one of Iceland's spokesmen in the Nordic debate.
"At the roundtable discussion in Helsinki, I felt that the Nordic countries are willing, more than ever before, to co-operate in defence matters. Neither Sweden nor Finland are members of NATO but the fact that both countries want to increase defence co-operation is very positive in my view.

Iceland is a member of NATO but does not have its own armed forces. In February 2014, Swedish and Finnish air force units carried out a joint aerial surveillance exercise over Iceland for the first time.
"Icelanders in general are very peace-orientated and do not want Iceland to take part in any military operation at all. However, when it comes to co-operation around defence policy, aerial surveillance or fighting terrorism the attitude is quite different", says Höskuldur Þórhallsson.