In 2025, Finland and Åland will hold the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Their Presidency aims to support the shared vision of the Nordic region becoming the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by 2030. This goal will be advanced through three strategic areas: sustainable Nordic, competitive Nordic, and socially sustainable Nordic region.
The year 2025 marks the beginning of a crucial period that will extend to 2030. During this period, the Nordic Council of Ministers will introduce new cooperation programmes across various policy sectors.
One of the key priority areas of the presidency programme is societal security, which includes crisis preparedness and resilience.
“Finland has long emphasised the importance of the concept of comprehensive security and cooperation on security of supply and preparedness. Our aim is to strengthen the Nordic region’s resilience further and to promote comprehensive preparedness for a variety of civilian crises and hybrid threats. The programme will also focus on children and youth,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said during the presentation of the Presidency’s programme. Prime Minister Orpo presented this programme alongside Katrin Sjögren, the Premier of the Åland Government.
In addition to leading the Nordic Council of Ministers, Finland will also hold the Presidency of the Foreign Ministers’ N5 cooperation and chair the Nordic defence cooperation known as NORDEFCO in 2025. The EU member states—Finland, Denmark, and Sweden—and Iceland, Norway, Åland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland participate in official Nordic cooperation through the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council.
Nordic cooperation began in 1952, making it one of the oldest regional cooperation structures in the world. The Nordic Council is the official body for interparliamentary collaboration between Nordic countries, comprising 87 members from Finland, Åland, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The Nordic Council of Ministers acts as the collaborative body for the governments of these countries. The primary responsibility for Nordic cooperation rests with the Nordic prime ministers, who delegate tasks to the ministers for Nordic cooperation (MR-SAM) and the Nordic Committee for Cooperation (NSK), which oversees day-to-day intergovernmental collaboration.
