Sweden, Norway, and Finland come under the same Nato headquarters – but whether this also applies to islands such as Gotland and Åland remains unclear.
Military reasons will decide, rather than political ones.
In Nato's new command structure, Sweden, Norway, and Finland will be placed under a headquarters in Norfolk, USA – something that has been a common Nordic wish.
It is an important step for us to be able to belong to the same Joint Forces Command in the Nordic countries, notes Defence Minister Pål Jonson (M) after this week's Nato meetings in Brussels.
Denmark and the Baltic countries, however, will be under a headquarters in Brunssum in the Netherlands. And possibly, this will also include planning for the Öresund region and the large islands in the Baltic Sea, such as Gotland and Åland.
USA to decide?
Exactly how this will land will be at the expert level. We have said that the important thing, of course, is that the decision is supported by military logic, not necessarily political logic, says Jonson.
He is open to letting Saceur – Nato's military commander in Europe, currently US General Chris Cavoli – make the decision, even if the Nordic countries would prefer to "keep the operational area together".
It is Saceur who should have the final say, says Jonson.
The final decision on headquarters is likely to wait until the member states' heads of state and government meet in Washington in July.
Ukraine support
Until then, Nato also needs to agree on the long-term support for Ukraine that Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wants to put in place. So far, there is no agreement on the total sum of approximately SEK 400 billion per year.
Progress was made, I interpreted it during the day, but the exact sum is not fixed, says a rather hoarse Pål Jonson in Brussels.
However, there is now a principle agreement to let Nato take a greater role in coordinating support for Ukraine.
This does not make Nato a part of the conflict, emphasizes Stoltenberg at his press conference after the meeting.
Nato's political and military headquarters are both located in Belgium – partly in Brussels, under the military alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, and partly in Mons, under the commander of the forces in Europe, General Chris Cavoli.
In the new regional planning, there are three underlying headquarters: in Naples, Italy, for the southern part, in Brunssum, the Netherlands, for the middle, and in Norfolk, USA, for the northern.
In addition, Nato – among other things – also has a special land headquarters (Landcom) in Turkish Izmir, an air headquarters (Aircom) in German Ramstein, and a naval headquarters (Marcom) in British Northwood.
