Nordic defence cooperation was at the centre of the annual Nordic summer meeting in Denmark on Thursday, 20 August, as the region’s heads of state and government discussed military rearmament, common deterrence and lessons from the war in Ukraine. The meeting, hosted by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Faroese Prime Minister (løgmaður) Beinir Johannesen, brought together leaders from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. The Danish Prime Minister’s Office said the talks were held first at Høvelte Barracks and later at Marienborg.
Nordic defence cooperation is moving closer to NATO planning
The leaders began the meeting at Høvelte Barracks, north of Copenhagen, where they were shown modern Danish military capabilities. The discussions then continued at Marienborg, the official residence used by Denmark’s prime minister, with the changing geopolitical environment and stronger Nordic military cooperation among the main subjects.
According to Frederiksen, the priority was to discuss how the Nordic countries can coordinate their military build-up and strengthen their common deterrence, including by applying knowledge gained from the Ukrainian battlefield.
The talks come as Nordic defence cooperation has become increasingly integrated since Finland and Sweden joined NATO. Under NORDEFCO’s Vision 2030, the five Nordic countries aim to improve their ability to plan and conduct combined military operations and contribute more closely to NATO’s deterrence and defence in Northern Europe.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine remains the central security context. The Nordic and Baltic governments have also continued to coordinate their support for Ukraine, most recently reaffirming in June that Russia represents the most significant long-term and direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security.
Eight Nordic leaders took part in the meeting
Alongside Frederiksen and Johannesen, the summit was attended by Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Greenland’s Chair of Naalakkersuisut Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Åland’s Premier (lantråd) Katrin Sjögren.
The Norwegian government independently confirmed that strengthening Nordic security and defence was one of the two principal themes of the meeting, together with technology and the protection of children and young people online. Norway’s Prime Minister’s Office described the gathering as the Nordic summer meeting in Denmark.
Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, also participated in parts of the programme.
The Faroe Islands push again for equal Nordic membership
Defence was not the only institutional question on the agenda. Johannesen used the meeting to renew the Faroe Islands’ demand for full and equal participation in official Nordic cooperation.
The issue is already part of the agenda of the joint Danish-Faroese presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2026. Denmark and the Faroe Islands have made reform of the Helsinki Treaty, the legal foundation of formal Nordic cooperation, one of their priorities.
At present, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are formal members of the Nordic Council of Ministers, while Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland participate extensively but do not have exactly the same legal status. A commission created by the Nordic governments in March 2026 is examining possible treaty changes that could allow the three autonomous territories to participate on an equal basis.
The Danish government said the leaders would continue discussing the full and equal participation of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, an issue that has gained additional political weight during a period of greater geopolitical attention on the Arctic and the North Atlantic.
Protecting children online was the other major topic
The second major part of the summit focused on the digital environment faced by children and teenagers. Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and professor at the New York University Stern School of Business, gave a presentation intended to frame the leaders’ discussion on online protection.
The subject also forms part of Denmark and the Faroe Islands’ priorities for their 2026 presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, which includes cooperation on societal security, resilience and the protection of children and young people in the digital age.
The meeting therefore linked two areas that Nordic governments increasingly describe as questions of regional resilience: military security and societal security. With all five Nordic states now inside NATO, defence cooperation is becoming more closely connected to alliance planning, while the wider Nordic framework is simultaneously being reconsidered to give Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland a more equal role.
