Sweden, Finland and Denmark have taken a historic step after signing bilateral defense cooperation agreements with the United States.
Russian the full-scale, illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine was a significant turning point for the security of Europe and our neighboring region. Russia's war of aggression has fundamentally threatened the European security order. This also led to the fact that Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in the spring of 2022. Denmark, on the other hand, has been fully involved in the EU's security and defense policy cooperation since July 1, 2022. These changes in defense policy have broad support from the people and parliament in our countries. As a result of these changes, Pohjola is more unified in terms of security and defense policy than ever before.
Our message is clear. Our countries bear their responsibilities and are actively involved in building the European security environment in close cooperation with our democratic neighboring countries and allies.
Our common starting points are that Russia is a serious threat to European security in the near future and that the security policy commitment and military presence of the United States is vital to the security of Northern Europe.
We agree that Europe must take more and more responsibility for its own security. In accordance with this, we ensure that defense resources are sufficient and we support NATO's goal of spending 2 percent of our gross national product annually on defense spending, which we already committed to in the communique of the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Together, we call for the strengthening of the European defense industry.
As the three Nordic countries of the EU, we also emphasize the need to deepen cooperation between the EU and NATO.
Political, our military and financial support to Ukraine is comprehensive, and we will support Ukraine as long as it is needed.
Our Russia policy is long-term, clear and realistic, and is based on a credible deterrence and defense capability. We hope that Russia will develop in a peaceful and democratic direction, but we have to start from that and be prepared for the fact that Russia will be a threat to us for a long time to come.
We are developing security and defense political cooperation between the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries and the whole of Northern Europe.
The defense cooperation agreements concluded with the United States emphasize that this development goes hand in hand with the strengthening of the transatlantic connection, which is crucial for European security. We should not take this connection for granted.
Mixed Sweden, Finland and Denmark have now signed bilateral defense cooperation agreements with the United States within 15 days. The agreements are a natural extension of the transatlantic security policy development and an important part of our adaptation to the changed security policy conditions.
The agreements regulate the legal status of the US military presence in Finland, Denmark and Sweden and allow access to military areas. They also enable the development of American military infrastructure in our countries.
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The American presence is a deterrent that can prevent the emergence of armed threats.
The agreements are cooperation agreements. The cooperation framework they enable is based on national consent and full respect for our countries' legislation, sovereignty and international obligations. All cooperation is carried out in accordance with international law.
Agreements promote stability and security. They make it easier to get early and effective military support from the United States in a weakened security situation.
Americans presence is a deterrent that can prevent the emergence of armed threats. As a whole, the agreements respond to defense needs in different geographical directions and form an important basis for the defense of Northern Europe. For example, the Baltic Sea region with its maritime transport channel and the Northern Cape will receive support points for land, sea and air forces.
The agreements increase security not only in our countries and the United States, but also in all other Nordic countries and the Baltics. The agreements are applied bilaterally, but they also facilitate NATO's defense planning and strengthen the entire alliance. All this is very important to us.
Soon all the Nordic countries – which are closely linked in almost all areas of society – also belong to the same defense alliance for the first time.
The strength is also increased by the fact that Denmark, Sweden and Finland have and will also have bilaterally effective and consistent forms of cooperation with the United States. It is an indication of security policy unity, it strengthens the security of Northern Europe and supports NATO's joint planning. It is very important that Norway and Iceland also already have consistent bilateral cooperation agreements with the United States.
Swedish, Finland and Denmark bear responsibility for the European security order and international law. The best way to secure peaceful development is to strengthen our ability to defend ourselves together with our allies. By strengthening our national defense capabilities in close cooperation with each other and the United States, we help to strengthen NATO as well and increase the stability of Northern Europe as a whole.
Tobias Billström
Swedish Foreign Minister
Antti Häkkänen
Minister of Defense of Finland
Pål Jonsson
Swedish Minister of Defense
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Danish Foreign Minister
Troels Lund Poulsen
Danish Defense Minister< /span>
Elina Valtonen
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland
The reader's opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which have been selected and edited by the HS editorial staff. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.
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