The Kingdom of Norway would like to approach fellow members of the Nordic Council with the idea of promoting unity and developing closer relations with our fellow Scandinavians in order to promote the idea of Pan-Scandinavism. This would be in parallel to EU developments, as we want to maintain our friendly relations with the EU.

With Europe's disjointed response to COVID, and what can basically be seen as the bribing of Poland and Hungary, it has brought into question if the EU's plans for further integration are something that could truly happen, or a pipe dream that will actually be realized. With current EU structures requiring unanimous approval, it is quite easy to see how quickly the EU could devolve themselves from the democratic principles we so cherish. Responses to the Coronavirus has seen a strong response from the Scandinavian nations, which in comparison has seen many of the other EU nations having failed catastrophically to handle properly.

This only further emphasizes the problems with integration of the EU as a single federal body, but we do not see this as Eurosceptism. Actually it is quite the opposite, as we see the EU having massive benefits. However, for the Scandinavian countries, it is likely better for us to work with the EU in similar fashion to the way Norway works with the EU. In order to handle Scandinavian matters, we need the Nordic Council to function well enough for this to be accomplished.

EU Status

Within Scandinavia there has been a mixed reaction towards how deeply integrated we become into the EU. Of its members, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are all members of the EU, which leaves Iceland and Norway out of the EU but still part of the EFTA. In contrast, the members who are part of the EU, only Finland is actually part of the Euro, with every other Scandinavian country maintaining their own currency.

For further integration, we must consider what all this means. Should these countries leave the EU and take the Norwegian stance of having an economic treaty with the EU without remaining inside of the EU. Obviously this would need to be negotiated with the EU, and we hope that if we decide to take this path, self-determination would be granted. Unfortunately, to remain as part of the EU would be difficult given the EU legislative structure and any proposed new structure for closer Scandinavian ties would mean heavy conflict between the two legislative bodies.

In addition, given the fact that Finland is the only nation in the Euro, it would be better for the Scandinavian nations to come to a single currency. All of the Scandinavian nations are using some version of the Krone/Krona. Discussions should take place for the adoption of a singular one, with Finland joining this currency in the future.

Expansion and Reforms of Legislative Bodies

We would like to see the Nordic Council expand its current 87 representatives to 157 in order to give more representation for the member nations of the Nordic Council. This would follow a planned expansion to 257 within the next 4 years. The reason for the expansion of the legislative body of the Nordic Council is we hope that this serves as a platform for further integration.

We would also like to have the Nordic Council reformed. In this reformation, members are elected to the Nordic Council similar to how members would be voted to the EU legislative bodies. Already, each government has to implement any decisions made by the Nordic Council through its national legislature. With this power, it is better to have greater representation for the people as we hope to make the Nordic Council a stronger Federal legislature. As the Nordic Council looks for means of further integration, having a more formal federal legislative branch would prove to be critical in this effort.

Integration Discussion

We would like to provide a forum for what can be done to enhance integration. We believe projects similar to what the EU has done will be necessary in order to unify our realms.

Proposals

1. We believe we should form the Ministry of Nordic Integration (MNI) as a branch of the Nordic Council. This will help manage the integration of the Scandinavian nations. Besides the integration of our infrastructure, we must look towards the integration of our respective governments to form a super-state.
   
2. In order to respect the Nordic monarchies, we propose the formation of a Federal Constitutional Monarchy system: United Kingdom of Scandinavia (UKS). Under this federal constitutional monarchy, the heads of state will remain as heads of their respective Kingdoms, however an election will be had for the constitutional ruler for the UKS. With the passing of the ruler, a new election will be held from the royal families to choose the successor. The ruler is constitutional and almost entirely ceremonial in nature. Note: This is our proposal for what the union would look like, this would not happen until the end when we form.
3. Eventually, as we integrate further, we would like to see the Nordic Council emerge as the unicameral Parliament of the UKS. Hence the reason for its increase in size. Through this coordination, we would have a federal parliament representing all of the members of the UKS. Each state would retain a Parliament of their own to handle internal matters, essentially forming a system similar to the Federal Republic of Germany: Each state is members of Germany but have a large amount of autonomy. Note: This is our proposal for what the union would look like, this would not happen until the end when we form.
4. We would like to begin the work on infrastructure projects to better connect our peoples and improve the lives of our citizens. This is the goal of the Nordic Council, and the promotion of working together will serve to promote the integration ideals.

It is important to note that this will not be suddenly. Integration takes time, but we are lucky to have a high degree of desire for integration and have already taken many of the steps necessary. We hope that we are able to form this in due time, making the steps and gaining the popularity for it with time. This is our discussion and our way to understand each other so we can set a basis for continuation.