Nordic nations begin drafting a joint defence agreement to fight 'as one' inside NATO

Nordic nations begin drafting a joint defence agreement to fight 'as one' inside NATO.

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland agreed on Thursday to begin developing a Nordic Defence Cooperation Agreement, a legal framework meant to integrate their armed forces more closely and strengthen NATO's ability to deter and defend, according to a joint statement released after a two-day meeting of Nordic defence ministers in Oslo.

"We have already come a long way within the framework of NATO," Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik said, Reuters reported. "Now we want to take the cooperation one step further and integrate the Nordic armed forces even more closely." Sandvik said the countries' military chiefs had flagged practical obstacles, such as the rules for moving personnel and equipment across borders, that the new agreement should remove.

The ministers wrote that "European Allies are increasingly taking more responsibility for our own security" and called Russia's war against Ukraine "the most pressing challenge to our security," pledging continued political, military, financial and humanitarian support for Kyiv. The meeting also brought in the Nordic defence chiefs and the commander of NATO's Joint Force Command Norfolk, under which all five countries now sit.

The statement points to progress under the Nordic defence vision for 2030 signed in 2024: air forces that can increasingly fight together "as one," NATO Forward Land Forces in Finland, and a goal to triple Nordic ammunition production capacity by 2030 that the ministers say is on track. The new agreement will be "fully in line with NATO's efforts," they said. Norway's government said its aim is to make the Nordic region Europe's most integrated defence region.

All five countries are NATO members since Finland and Sweden joined in 2023 and 2024. Their push comes amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and uncertainty over America's role as NATO's ultimate security guarantor, Reuters noted. No timeline for the agreement was announced. Focus Plus Media will track the negotiations.