Terms of reference for the Commission to review the Helsinki Treaty
In October 2024, the Nordic Council sent a recommendation to the national governments calling on them to initiate a process to update the Helsinki Treaty (recommendation no. 21/2024).
The governments responded on 11 February 2025, in the first instance initiating a study of the legal aspects of a potential review. On 4 April 2025, MR-SAM appointed Professor Elina Pirjatanniemi of Åbo Academy to conduct the study. The results were submitted to the ministers on 1 February 2026.
The main point stressed by the study is that the Helsinki Treaty is a framework agreement. Based on the principle that they are free to enter into other treaties within that framework, the Nordic countries have extensive opportunities to develop closer co-operation and to revise the Helsinki Treaty in accordance with their national interests. On 16 March 2026, MR-SAM set up a commission to draw up specific proposals for amendments to the Helsinki Treaty concerning the equal participation of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland in activities covered by the treaty.
Remit
The Commission has been tasked with drawing up a single comprehensive proposal for concrete amendments to the treaty text and other initiatives to ensure equal participation by the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.
As a bare minimum, the Commission must consider the following articles in the Helsinki Treaty:
- Art. 47 (election of members of the Nordic Council)
- Art. 48 (composition of delegations from Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland)
- Art. 52 (the Presidium of the Nordic Council)
- Art. 60 (co-operation under the Nordic Council of Ministers)
- Art. 61 (responsibility for the overall coordination of issues concerning Nordic co-operation)
- Art. 62 (voting rights in the Nordic Council of Ministers)
- Art. 63 (the binding nature of decisions made by the Nordic Council of Ministers)
- Art. 67 (meetings of Nordic ministers).
Other issues to be covered by the Commission include the obligations of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland in relation to holding the Presidency of the Nordic Council and the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, as well their financial contributions to the Council of Ministers’ budget.
The Commission must submit a single and final report on its work. It must be submitted to MR-SAM in time for the proposed amendments to the Helsinki Treaty to be considered as a Nordic Council of Ministers’ proposal at the Session of the Nordic Council in October 2026.
Within the framework of these terms of reference, the Commission is free to decide how it will work and when it will meet. It is up to the Commission to decide whether to work in the Nordic working languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) or in English.
The Commission will conduct all of its affairs in private. Discussions, materials and preliminary conclusions must not be made public or disseminated to others outside the Commission without the express permission of the Nordic governments. The Commission must, however, provide MR-SAM with regular updates on its progress.
Members
The Commission will consist of eight members authorised to represent the governments of Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Åland.
The Commission will be chaired by the member from the country that holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The Commission is empowered to draw on additional resources from the Nordic countries and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretariat if deemed necessary. If requested by the chair of the Commission, the Nordic Council of Ministers may pay expenses for Professor Elina Pirjatanniemi to attend Commission meetings and to provide advice on legal matters.