Statement from Presidency of Nordic Council on update of Helsinki Treaty

President of the Nordic Council Ville Väyrynen says: “The Presidency of the Nordic Council wants the governments to expand the mandate of the commission in accordance with the recommendation. The Nordic governments’ desire to strengthen the position of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland in Nordic co-operation is just one of several points to be addressed and updated.”

The Presidency of the Nordic Council wishes to stress that the Nordic Council’s recommendation to the governments on an update to the Helsinki Treaty is clear. A unanimous Nordic Council urges the Nordic governments to look into the possibility of updating several parts of the Helsinki Treaty, the so-called Nordic constitution. 

The Helsinki Treaty has not been updated in more than 30 years and does not correspond to the aspirations and challenges that Nordic co-operation now has. The articles and areas mentioned in the recommendation – including defence and security policy, climate and biodiversity, children and young people, obstacles to freedom of movement, welfare, culture, education and research, as well as digitalisation and infrastructure – are all in need of updating. 

The Presidency of the Nordic Council also wishes to stress that the Nordic Council would like to be part of the commission established to work on the updates, especially as the commission will be working on several articles that concern the work of the Nordic Council. 

The Presidency of the Nordic Council thus supports the Nordic governments in setting up the commission, but wishes to ensure the Nordic Council’s participation in it and that the commission is given a broad mandate to work on updates to all the areas listed in the recommendation.