Nordic Defence and Security Commission – Proposal for closer co-operation on security and stability
Closer Nordic co-operation does not pose a threat to anybody. It will enhance stability and the ability to anticipate events in the region. Finland and Sweden joining NATO has also opened up significant new opportunities
Security in the Nordic Region and surrounding countries is one of the main priorities in the international strategy adopted by the Nordic Council in March 2023. It is also key to the Council’s societal security strategy. The two strategies, devised jointly by all of the party groups, were adopted by large majorities, demonstrating a strong consensus that security plays a central role in Nordic co-operation.
Lack of a joint commission with a Nordic mandate
The Nordic Council sees the proposal for a commission as an important milestone for co-operation on security policy and for joint efforts to promote stability and security.
Defence and security policy is often a main theme at sessions of the Nordic Council. The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, was a keynote speaker in Copenhagen in 2021 and Oslo in 2023.
Every year, the Presidium invites Nordefco, the country holding the Presidency and the chairs of the national defence committees to a roundtable discussion on security in the region. Nordefco is the Nordic defence ministers’ co-operation body.
Despite the existence of national committees and various reports on the subject, the Presidium believes there is still a need for a forum where defence and security policy issues can be raised at a Nordic level, hence the proposal for a defence and security commission with a Nordic mandate.
Now that all of the Nordic countries are in NATO, we have a unique opportunity to work even more closely together and protect our democracies and shared values
Now that all of the Nordic countries are members of NATO and Nordefco has drawn up a new vision for co-operation, the Nordic Council believes everything is in place for setting up a Nordic defence and security commission. Under the proposal, the committee would have a broad mandate and involve representatives from the defence sector and politicians from across the Nordic countries.
The proposal stresses that the committee’s work could include analyses of security in the Arctic, North Atlantic and Baltic Sea, as well as the development of a total defence system with a focus on cyber security and hybrid threats. The main focus should be on collective security, better coordination of national decisions on defence and closer co-operation on security.
It is important to focus even more closely on co-operation around the Arctic, North Atlantic and Baltic Sea to ensure a secure future for all of us
The Nordic Council’s proposal also stresses that the work should be headed up by the governments and defence ministers but it is also important that parliamentarians are involved to ensure a broad Nordic perspective and political support for its work.
