Joint statement by the Nordic Prime Ministers and Heads of Government on cooperation for enhanced crisis preparedness and resilience – The Nordics: United and Strong

In an era marked by an increasing frequency and complexity of crises, the eight Nordic governments share a commitment to foster resilience and ensure effective civil preparedness. Leveraging our unique geographical, cultural and historical bonds, we highlight our unwavering commitment to peace, security and stability.

Having endorsed a comprehensive security model, we continuously strengthen the Nordic region in line with whole-of-society, whole-of-government, all-hazards and societal resilience approaches in order to anticipate, prevent and respond to crisis. The vital functions of society must be ensured. We are committed to further intensifying cooperation for increased civil preparedness and resilience in our region.

The signature feature of Nordic preparedness work is societal resilience which builds on the participation of the individual and is based on trust. Together, we will build resilient communities that are well-equipped to face the different uncertainties of the future while safeguarding the wellbeing of our citizens.

Advancing civil preparedness and resilience beyond the Nordic region

While each country maintains its own administrative structure, Nordic efforts to improve civil preparedness and resilience have intensified in most sectors of government in recent years. Together, we advance better local, national, Nordic and European preparedness through active dialogue and information exchange, by sharing lessons learned, and through cooperation and coordination.

Our common Nordic preparedness and resilience work is in line with the European Preparedness Union Strategy and actions taken by NATO, the UN and other international organisations. A stronger, better prepared Nordic region provides overall security and strengthens stability. We also need to continue to explore further ways to enable the NIB and EIB to invest in defence-related activities beyond existing dual-use projects, while taking into account the impact on the risk profile and safeguarding the institutions’ financing basis.

We are also committed to strengthening and deepening cooperation between the Nordics and Ukraine in the areas of civil preparedness and national resilience.

Current initiatives and key areas for further cooperation

Deepening Nordic security of supply and preparedness cooperation in the changed security environment is essential. In this regard, the establishment of the Nordic Security of Supply Network later this year will be an important addition.

The Haga cooperation framework is important for strengthening Nordic coordination and planning, mutual learning and political guidance within the area of civil preparedness, protection, resilience and civil-military cooperation, respecting the demilitarisation of Åland. We see it as important that the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland can participate in the cooperation. Closer cooperation with the Baltic States is also encouraged, both within civil protection and critical underwater infrastructure.

We acknowledge that Nordic cooperation in the judicial sector focuses on promoting the rule of law and democracy as well as combating violent extremism, terrorism and organised crime, thereby enhancing security and resilience. Pressures on fundamental rights and the rule of law can best be countered by acting as a united region with common values.

We welcome the enhanced Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which also supports NATO.

We welcome the fact that both the ministers responsible for civil preparedness and protection, in the Haga III declaration and in the Oslo conclusions for the Haga Ministerial Meeting on 27–28 November 2024, and the Nordic Defence Ministers, at the NORDEFCO meeting in November 2024, see the need to strengthen Nordic cross-governmental civil-military cooperation.

Transport infrastructure and logistics networks are essential for security, resilience and economic vitality. We welcome the ongoing work to develop strategic corridors for military transport in the Nordic region, in line with the joint Letter of Intent signed by the Nordic Ministers of Defence on 21 November 2024 and the statement on military mobility and security of supply issued at the Nordic Transport Ministers’ informal meeting on 13 May 2025.

We welcome the joint strategy of the Nordic nuclear and radiation safety authorities aimed at strengthening joint emergency preparedness for nuclear and radiological emergencies.

Advancing the security and sustainability of Nordic energy infrastructure is crucial for ensuring a reliable energy supply, protecting society’s critical functions and preventing various threats and disruptions.

Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution pose direct and indirect risks by destabilising ecosystems, economies and societies. Dealing with these challenges and adapting to climate change are essential components of comprehensive security and resilience cooperation. It also offers us an opportunity to strengthen our business communities and our competitiveness.

Recognising the declaration by the Nordic Ministers for business on enhanced industrial cooperation and the need to reduce trade barriers in the Nordics, and underlining the importance of competitive Nordic companies in making the world more prosperous, more secure and more sustainable, we acknowledge the role of the private sector in Nordic preparedness across all sectors as it is vital for securing critical value chains and managing the transition our societies are facing.

Space-based services play an increasing role in many functions of society. Nordic cooperation in space can ensure resilience and redundance, elevate the positive impact of space-based services, make the use of resources more efficient, support Nordic innovation and growth, and promote complimentary technological solutions.

The Nordic financial markets are highly integrated from an economic and technical standpoint. We stress the importance of dialogue and preparedness of the financial markets with respect to crises, disruptions and hybrid threats, and the need for systematically enhanced preparedness measures.

We emphasise that security and robustness are crucial to citizens’ sustained trust in digital services. We commit to maintaining our region’s position as a leader in digitalisation and ensuring that everyone in the region benefits from our highly digitised societies (regardless of age, disability, wealth, education or level of digital skills). We emphasise the need for robust digital infrastructure across the Nordic region and the importance of strengthening the use of redundant transmission network routes between the Nordic countries. Cybersecurity should be considered an integral part of preparedness planning and risk assessments in all sectors.

We will intensify cooperation in health and social affairs based on the Preparedness agreement. Legislative cross-border obstacles must be removed to allow seamless mutual assistance in severe accidents and crises. Work continues on further developing a joint Situational Awareness Platform and a Nordic mass-casualty response plan. Cooperation on security of supply of medicines will be further strengthened and intensified.

Fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture, food policy and forestry are essential for ensuring Nordic security of supply as underlined in the Karlstad declaration of 2024. These sectors contribute to strengthening the Nordic region’s ability to manage crises and disruptions in supply chains, thereby safeguarding stable access to vital resources and goods.

Education strengthens the population’s democratic knowledge, as well as its critical thinking skills, ethical awareness, digital competencies and ability to navigate a new media and information reality. We encourage Nordic research to produce new knowledge on preparedness for and resilience to crisis.

We emphasise the importance of culture in strengthening the resilience of society and safeguarding democracy, and we encourage increased preparedness planning in the area of Nordic-Baltic cultural cooperation.

We acknowledge gender equality as an important component in building our societies’ resilience and preparedness.
We acknowledge the increased attention within Nordic institutional governmental cooperation, the Nordic Council of Ministers, on preparedness and resilience. During crises, the role of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation is to highlight the Nordic perspective between and within our governments, including by preserving freedom of movement.

The Ministers for Nordic cooperation and relevant responsible ministers will continue to follow closely the ongoing work within the Council of Ministers to strengthen cooperation on preparedness for crises.

A strong and resilient Nordic region with a high level of societal security requires a high level of integration and cooperation between the eight Nordic governments. In line with this, and as the Nordic region is to be the most integrated region in the world by 2030, we will continue to meet in this constituency to discuss Nordic issues.