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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2023
INTRODUCTION
While the Nordic countries share many similarities, there are also significant differences between them. These similarities and differences are also present in the field of foreign policy, including in their relationships with the European Union and the United Kingdom. Denmark and Sweden took part in the creation of EFTA with the UK and others in 1960, whereas Finland became an associate member of EFTA in 1961 and a full member in 1986. Denmark followed the UK closely in its attempts to become a member of the EEC in the 1960s and became a member with, and because of, the UK in 1973. The UK’s rapprochement with the EEC from the 1960s played into the debate about membership in Sweden, but the Swedish government decided against an application for membership as this was seen as incompatible with Sweden’s status as a non-aligned state. In Finland, the EEC membership debate started in earnest only after Sweden announced its intention to apply for membership. The Finnish and Swedish memberships of the EU in 1995 were closely linked to their redefinition of non-alignment after the Cold War and were not in any direct way related to the position of the UK.
As militarily non-aligned states, Finland and Sweden are not members of NATO. Denmark, on the contrary, has been a member of NATO since 1949 and has worked with the UK in multilateral military operations; during the lengthy military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Danish forces cooperated closely with the British. Finland and Sweden have taken part in NATO operations as partnership countries, and both have recently taken steps to intensify their cooperation with NATO.
The three countries also have different statuses within the EU. Finland, often said to be the most pro-integrationist of the three, is the only Nordic country to have adopted the euro. Denmark, in contrast, has opt-outs in four areas: European citizenship, defence, cooperation in justice and home affairs and the third stage of EMU, therefore not participating in the euro. Sweden does not have a formal opt-out but, as a result of a referendum in 2003, does not participate in the euro either.
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