Ways to Protect the Arctic
Original title: Schutzmethoden für die Arktis
The consequences and repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also dominated the Northern Group’s meeting of northern European foreign ministers in Iceland. Security policy was among the most important issues.
Arctic security was among the central concerns on the agenda at the Northern Group meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland. Defence ministers from northern European states also discussed the general and defence-policy situation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions, as well as in the Arctic.
‘We underline our strong political unity and cohesion in the face of threats to the security of our region,’ the defence ministers declared in a statement following the conference on 8 June.
Under the current chairmanship of Iceland’s defence minister Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, who is also its foreign minister, the Northern Group focused particularly on the ongoing war in Ukraine. The group also made clear its deep concern that the security-policy consequences of the war in eastern Europe extended to the Arctic. For that reason, it unanimously welcomed NATO measures to strengthen defence, intended to deter Russia on the alliance’s eastern flank.
The Northern Group, short for the Northern European defence-policy forum, comprises the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland and Germany.
The group was initiated by the United Kingdom in 2010 to cooperate on security issues in northern Europe.
Icelandic foreign minister Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, who chaired the meeting, described the group’s regional expertise as an important strength.
‘It is valuable for us to give our closest allies and partners an insight into how we in Iceland manage our security and defence, and how we, as a nation without armed forces, contribute to our shared security environment in the North Atlantic and the Arctic,’ she said in a statement this week.
The Northern Group ministers also emphasised their support for Finland’s and Sweden’s applications to join NATO.
‘This will improve our collective defence and increase security and stability in northern Europe,’ the ministers said.
Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom therefore support Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership applications and will work towards swift national ratification processes.
The Northern Group’s chairmanship rotates every six months. Norway will take over from Iceland later this year.