Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have agreed to prepare a new Nordic defense cooperation agreement that will help strengthen defense cooperation, ministers have said.
The Danish Ministry of Defense said in a Nov. 12 statement that a new agreement in the region could further integrate Nordic defense cooperation and make it more flexible, as well as support cooperation in NATO.
All five countries agreed to the plans as their respective defense ministers met in Oslo, Norway, for a meeting convened within the framework of the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO) on Nov. 11 and Nov 12.
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are all members of NATO. Finland and Sweden are the alliance’s newest members, having joined in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
“The Nordic defense cooperation that we see today is a crucial and solid foundation that we must continue to develop and expand in the future,” Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus said, according to the Nov. 12 statement.
“With a defense cooperation agreement, we would be able to take our Nordic cooperation to a new level and demonstrate that we take even greater responsibility for our regional security and thereby contribute to NATO’s deterrence and defense.”
Bruus said NORDEFCO members need to be able to participate even more smoothly in exercises across national borders, and this agreement would strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense in the region.
NORDEFCO
Norwegian Minister of Defense Tore Sandvik said in a statement that Nordic countries have already come a long way within NATO’s framework in terms of cooperation.
“We exercise and train together more than ever before,” Sandvik said. “Now we want to take the cooperation one step further and integrate the Nordic armed forces even more closely.”
One challenge highlighted by the group’s military leadership was the need to harmonize rules, such as with regard to moving military personnel and equipment across each other’s borders.
“We see that there is potential to remove practical obstacles and adapt laws and regulations to make it possible to operate even more smoothly across national borders,” Sandvik said.
NORDEFCO was established in 2009 and, according to the Government Offices of Sweden website, primarily aims to increase members’ defense capabilities and enhance their abilities to take joint action if a crisis arises in the region.
Enhancing Cooperation
The NORDEFCO members have worked to improve their cooperation.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defense said in a Nov. 12 statement that since the 2024 signing of the Vision for Nordic Defense Cooperation 2030 (Vision 2030), “we have made efforts to enhance our cooperation in a range of areas, including our ability to command and conduct combined joint operations, capability development, material and acquisitions, enablement and more.”
According to Sweden’s government, Vision 2030 is a steering document on Nordic defense, which will strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, including the ability to conduct combined operations involving multiple countries.
The latest move demonstrates how Nordic countries are reinforcing their defense preparedness, in the context of the changing security reality in the region, notably the Russia-Ukraine war; all Nordic countries are backers of Ukraine and two (Finland and Norway) have land borders with Russia.
Moscow has consistently denied it poses a threat to its Nordic neighbors, and regards accusations that it does so as scaremongering.
Reuters contributed to this report.
