Where next for Nordic co-operation?
Johan Schalin presents thoughts on the role played by the Nordic Council of Ministers in preparedness and societal security.
This was the focus when ministers and other representatives of the eight Nordic countries met in Åland for a seminar on the future of the Nordic cooperation. Civil preparedness, trust, tangible results and the role of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland in official Nordic co-operation were among the main themes. Despite broad agreement that co-operation is important, there is also a call for clarification of the role of the Nordic Council of Ministers, so that co-operation is still what gets prioritised in a changing world.
The seminar brought together politicians, civil servants and experts to discuss how to develop Nordic co-operation in a time of uncertainty in Europe and the rest of the world.
The new Helsinki Treaty
Nordic co-operation is based on the Helsinki Treaty, signed in 1962. The treaty has been amended several times, but the last update was back in 1996, and it no longer provides an adequate framework for addressing the challenges we face today.
Working more closely together could also have more of an impact than official Nordic co-operation has had over the past 20 years, especially if we step up collaboration on issues like emergency preparedness, competitiveness, digitalisation and a more integrated Nordic labour market, to name but a few.
As clear as that may sound, a consensus still has to be reached on what to add to the treaty and what to remove. In his introduction to Challenges and opportunities for future co-operation, Professor Johan Strang pointed out that members often create new challenges by talking past each other. Not everyone necessarily sees the same opportunities. The eight countries do not all have the same status, even though Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland run certain matters themselves and have their own place in official co-operation.
How Greenland and the Faroe Islands view membership
The Faroe Islands have a clear desire for full and self-financed membership, according to Gunvør Balle, the Faroese member of the Nordic Committee for Co-operation (NSK). The situation is more complex for Greenland, where the government has to prioritise political resources for a new geopolitical reality and the crises facing the country. Government minister Bentiaraq Ottosen told the seminar that his country wants to work with the Nordic Council of Ministers in the future, but that its neighbours in the Arctic are equally important partners.
The world situation is highly dynamic, and Greenland has changed significantly. We have to deal with the consequences of climate change, conflicts and wars. For us, co-operation is not just about the official Nordic one. We also have other interests in the Arctic region and look to our neighbours like Iceland and Canada, as well as Finland and Norway.
Civil preparedness: We already do a great deal together
The long border with Russia and large land areas in the Arctic make the Nordic Region a focal point in Europe's security landscape, which means a broad focus on security and resilience is a necessity at all levels of society. Johan Schalin, Head of Analysis and Research at Hybrid CoE, stressed that the Nordic countries can do far more together in this policy area, including on food safety and health. Alexander Zilliacus from the National Emergency Supply Agency in Finland reminded the seminar that COVID-19 was “the world's largest emergency response exercise” and showed that co-operation – including between government and the business community – is crucial.
Katrin Sjögren, the Åland Premier, emphasised that her island country works very well with Finland when it comes to preparedness, a co-operation stress-tested by the pandemic and storm Alfrida in 2019. She pointed out Åland’s special strength – ‘The best food preparedness in the Nordic Region’ – with enough potatoes, apples and onions for its people to manage 72 hours on their own.
You can actually live of potatoes, apples and onions for quite a long time.
The Ministers for Nordic Co-operation and representatives from the eight countries and the Secretary General met in Åland for a ministerial meeting and seminar on the future of Nordic co-operation.
Difficult questions are easier to adress when you are in the company of good friends.
A force for democracy in uncertain times
The seminar showed that the eight countries do not all agree on everything – not on the future of the Helsinki Treaty, the role of foreign policy or full membership for Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland – but one thing everyone agreed on was that closer Nordic co-operation can be a democratic response to an uncertain world situation. If we were able to agree on a framework for co-operation in the past, we can do it again. It will call for more analysis, research and dialogue – and why not involve those at the heart of it all: the citizens of the Nordic Region.
Democracy’s strength is to allow room for different points of view to get heard and that we respect each other standpoint – to then reach a compromise, establishing an even stronger Nordic Region in the future.
The Nordic Council of Ministers has a very clear mandate. We are a large network and can deploy our collective strength now and in the future. Emergency preparedness is undoubtedly one of the areas that is highly relevant to us all.
The co-operation ministers met in Åland and discussed identity matching, societal security and freedom of movement
