Nordic leaders meet in Iceland to discuss peace, security in Arctic region

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – Nordic prime ministers met in Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik to discuss peace and security in the Arctic region.

As part of the 2024 Session of the Nordic Council, the leaders emphasized the importance of unity in supporting Ukraine, promising to support Finland and other European countries that are “under hybrid attack from Russia.”

In a joint press conference, prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland highlighted the rise of international crime and the impact of migration, calling for stricter legislation and cross-border cooperation.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson highlighted his country’s struggle with organized crime and law enforcement.

“We have focused on deepening our cooperation to combat transnational organized crime, unfortunately, a well-known Swedish problem, not least, and to address the challenges related to migration, enhanced cooperation between law enforcement agencies at our border to both Norway and Finland are very important steps,” said Kristersson.

Norway also stressed the need for cross-border police cooperation to combat crime.

“We see that this is these are challenges that we now can see cross border, we can detect in Norway, in all police districts, elements of these networks emanating from Sweden, and we have to fight that together, because as crime goes cross border, we have to go cross border in police, government and all kind of legal activities to combat that,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The Finnish prime minister stressed the importance of Nordic countries working together more than ever.

“The challenges we are facing, Russia's war in Ukraine, Middle East, climate change, to name a few, mean that we need to work together more than ever,” Petteri Orpo said.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen underscored the challenges posed by organized crime and migration, calling for innovative solutions and a joint European response.

“Denmark and a majority of the Nordic countries and EU member states are ready to look into new, innovative solutions. We are willing to step up our efforts on the external borders, on returns of those who should not be in Europe,” Frederiksen noted.

According to her, migration and crime are connected.

“And when we are talking about migration, unfortunately, we are also talking about organized crime. It's getting worse,” the Danish premier said, adding that criminals are now being hired in Sweden to enter Denmark.

“They are destroying our entire way of thinking as Nordic countries and Nordic societies,” Frederiksen added.

The Northern European leaders concluded the session with a call for continued efforts to focus on the values and prosperity of the Nordic Region.