Northern European countries take charge of the initiative in security and defense issues

European leaders Kiev visited the third anniversary of the Russian war on Ukraine, and they sat in a narrow circle with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zellinski, where everyone sat on the edge of their seats, leaning forward, and their heads are close, listening to Zelinski.

None of them appeared depressed or worried, on the contrary, it is clear that they participated in a common mission, and it seemed that everyone focused on the future … in short, they seemed to be a family.

Almost all leaders were from northern Europe and the Baltic countries, also known as “North Countries and the Eight Baltic” or “NB8”.

In Kyiv, the head of the European Commission and the Canadian and Spanish Prime Minister joined them.

For decades, most policy makers in the northern European countries considered that Europe is nothing more than just a market.

Most of the time, they were known to curb integration rather than enhance it.

As for the Baltic countries, even Russia’s war on Ukraine was often referred to as “new countries”, although the three countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – joined NATO (NATO) and the European Union in 2004.

The initiative’s reins

Now, after the European North countries and the Baltic countries realized the “struggle” of Ukraine in order to stay under the Russian war, it changed its path, as it now does not care about more European integration, but also finds its voice and begins to take the initiative.

For the first time since the beginning of European integration in the early 1950s, these countries take charge of the initiative in common issues such as security and defense, and the last meeting in Kiev was just an example.

Perhaps the most important transformation occurred in Denmark, as the country has become a member of the European Union in 1973, along with the United Kingdom, almost the same conditions.

Denmark has always adopted a liberal approach directed towards the market in Europe, and has options not to join the euro, European citizenship, and European Union laws related to justice and internal affairs, and also had options for European defense.

Strict

During the “Corona” pandemic, Denmark was the most stringent member of the “Economist” group that resisted the use of joint European loans, or euro bonds, but after Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022, Copenhagen’s position radically changed.

As Russia intensified its hybrid attacks in the Baltic Sea, the Danish voted to join European defense initiatives.

In a transformation of 180 degrees, Denmark is now also one of the most prominent supporters of euro bonds, in order to give the European weapons industry a very necessary batch.

The Danish Prime Minister, Mitt Friedrixen, was among the invitees to a mini -European summit in Paris, on February 17, organized by French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Europe’s security and defense, after the American delegation at the Munich Security Conference threw severe doubts about the future of Atlantic relations and NATO (NATO).

Macron called on the main players in Europe only, and during the meeting, Frederksen spoke, not only in the name of Denmark, but also, officially, in the name of all European countries and the Baltic countries, including Norway not a member of the European Union.

Denmark may be a small country, but it occupies a prominent position in this debate, and the country has given almost all its heavy equipment to Ukraine to help in the ground war, and its defensive budget has just increased, and it is one of the few countries that speak publicly about common debts, and no longer suggests reducing the European Union budget. As befitting the leader, Friedrixen publicly discusses all these national transformations, and integrates it into a broader geopolitical and European narration.

Integrated area

Sweden is less explicit about this novel, but its transformation is not less depth. Like Denmark, the country used to oppose more European integration routinely, except when it comes to deepening the internal market or signing trade agreements with third countries.

Now, as security threats in the Baltic Sea and the northern European are doubled, Stockholm feels exposed, realized the weakness of the individual European countries, and Sweden became a member of NATO in 2024, and also intensified its military preparations with Norway and Finland in recent years, which turned the entire northern region into an integrated area without borders.

In addition to security, this integration also includes academic cooperation and joint infrastructure projects.

In Brussels, Sweden’s liberal and supportive positions of the market and open trade were somewhat eased. The diplomats say that Denmark and Sweden are now aware of the reason that Finland is part of every aspect of European integration, from the Schengen region to the euro.

Finland has always felt weak because of its 830 -mile border with Russia, and even if the borders were quiet for several decades, it was a tense calm, and the Finns did not forget their war with Russia during World War II, and they always realized that a major geopolitical shift may one day destabilize those borders again.

For this reason, Finland did not radically reduce its military expenses, in contrast to Sweden and Denmark, as it continued to educate its citizens to be able to withstand, in anticipation of any emergency, and during the Euro crisis in 2011, when she was asked why she joined the euro area despite her opposition to most solutions to the Greek crisis, a Finnish official answered with one word: Finland is a member of the entire membership of the European Union without exceptions, explaining that “every layer of European integration constitutes another layer of security.”

Sudden

This evaluation echoes now in various parts of the group of eight countries, as all countries in this group have experience in dealing with Russia in one way or another, and it was often painful, and everyone sees, as Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loki Rasmussen wrote in the Financial Times recently, that “the future of European security is suspended in the scale” with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

The northern European countries and the Baltic countries combined are the second largest military donor to Ukraine, after the United States.

Rasmussen urged other European countries to intensify their efforts as well, asking: “How can eight small countries in northern Europe be a leader in this support?”

The Group of Eight flourished in the early 21st of the 21st century, when the newly independent Baltic countries sought to help democratic transformation and economic integration from their northern neighbors.

Over the years, there has been a platform for exchanging all kinds of information and experiences, about digital transformation, climate and security measures, and the Russian war on Ukraine gave the eight group a sudden and strong feeling of the goal.

Government officials meet regularly, and the group often issues joint data, and during a special lunch, a Baltic official proudly said: “We are now northern countries as well.” About “Foreign Policy”

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A tremendous challenge

Many Europeans ask these days: How can Europe face the tremendous challenge of providing defense and security without the United States? In some countries, people feel somewhat frustrated, as they fear the populists who support Russia, the economic stagnation, and the divided Europe that suffers from external threats.

. The “NB8” group flourished when the newly independent Baltic countries sought help from their northern neighbors.

. North European countries and the Baltic countries combined are the second largest military donor to Ukraine, after the United States.