New Nordic cooperation to strengthen blood preparedness

Brigadier John Olav Fuglem was appointed Major General and Chief of the Norwegian Army on October 23.

This is stated in a press release from the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.

Fuglem comes from the position as commander of the Finnmark Brigade.

"The Army is central to the defense of Norway and to our overall defense capability. As we now build up and further develop the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Army's ability to deter, defend Norway and operate well together with our allies, especially in the north, is important. I congratulate on the appointment as Commander of the Army, and wish success in this important mission, says Norwegian Minister of Defense Tore O. Sandvik.

Fuglem was the first commander of the Finnmark Brigade, which was established in August 2025, and will in the future be one of three brigades in the Army. The Finnmark Brigade will be provided with new capabilities adapted to the mission in Finnmark and will be a central piece in the collective defense of Norway and NATO, the ministry writes.

The Chief of the Army is a fixed-term position of six years, after a change in the law for military officials came into effect on January 1, 2026.

He will assume the position from the date determined by the Ministry of Defense.

The 78th session of the Nordic Council will take place in Helsinki, Finland, next week.

From Norway, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Minister for Nordic Cooperation Åsmund Aukrust will participate.

The main theme of this year's session is how the Nordic countries can together strengthen security and preparedness in the Nordic region.

During the session, Norway will also present the program for the chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2027, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes in a press release.

The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research recommends that the catch of snow crab on the Norwegian continental shelf in the Barents Sea should not exceed 16,594 tonnes in 2027. This is an increase of 35 percent compared to the recommendation for 2026.

"The recommendation follows from the fact that all stock indices included in the stock assessment are higher in 2026 than in 2025. This indicates that the stock has increased, and that there is room for increased catches in 2027," says Ann Merete Hjelset, researcher at the institute.

The quota recommendation and final quota for 2026 was 12,336 tonnes.

The final snow crab quota for 2027 will be set by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries during the autumn.

Today, Monday, Norway and Russia began negotiations on next year's fishing quotas in the Barents Sea. After having taken place in a digital format in recent years, the negotiations are now being held in the Turkish capital Istanbul between officials of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission.

"This is the first time in six years that the meeting has been held physically. This is to better resolve some of the technical and administrative issues that are demanding," says Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Labor) to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

The commission will set quotas for Northeast Arctic cod, Northeast Arctic haddock, capelin, Greenland halibut and beaked redfish, which are stocks jointly managed by Norway and Russia.

Particularly central to the negotiations is the cod quota, which has been reduced in recent years due to a decline in the stock. According to the minister, the quota cuts appear to have worked.

"Things look somewhat brighter for the near future. The fact that scientific advice has largely been followed has meant that the fluctuation is now starting to increase again," Næss states.

The total quota for Northeast Arctic saithe for 2027 has been set at 127,807 tonnes, announces the Norwegian Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Fisheries.

This quota is 22 percent lower than in 2026 and in line with advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

"We are following the management plan for saithe. The decline is noticeable, but necessary for the spawning population to grow again," says Minister of Fisheries and the Ocean Policy Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Labor).

The spawning stock has declined in recent years, but is still above the precautionary level. With the new quota, it is expected to increase from 2027 to 2028.

Because the saithe quotas have not been fully fished in recent years, the quota reduction will probably have less of an impact on the actual catch than 22 percent, according to the ministry.

While housing prices are falling across large parts of the country, new figures from Real Estate Norway show an unusal price surge in several municipalities in Northern Norway.

Hammerfest recorded the strongest growth in the entire country during the third quarter of 2026, with an increase of 4.5 percent, followed by Tromsø and Narvik.

Looking at the last four quarters combined, Narvik stands out with the hghest price growth in the nation at a staggering 14 percent. Tromsø (11.4 percent) and Hammerfest (10.5 percent) have also experienced exceptionally strong growth over the past year.

Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Eiendom Norge, points to major industrial investments and hew developments as the primary driver behind the northern municipalitiea setting themselves apart. Among other projects, he highlights Equinor’s gas investments in Hammerfest and Nscale’s data center in Narvik as key market drivers.

Finland’s Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen, has decided to usse a new decree from the Ministry of Defence regarding the use of Defence Forces vehicles.

”With the new decree, we are promoting military mobility in the changed security environment. With the reform, we will ensure that the operating conditions of the Defence Forces, traffic safety and military mobility, which is central to Finland's defence, form a functional whole,” Häkkänen said in a press release from the Ministry.

According to Yle, the reform will make it easier for Norwegian and Swedish military vehicles to enter Finland without special control measures at the border.

The same practice will also be introduced in ports and airports.

King Haakon VIII of Norway will visit the city of Narvik in Northern Norway on Tuesday, October 13.

This is the first official municipal visit for Norway's new king.

After the visit to Narvik, King Haakon will visit the Norwegian Armed Forces in Finnmark on October 13 and 14. There, he will visit several units in the Finnmark Brigade, which was established in 2025.

"In 1940, some of the fiercest fighting on Norwegian soil took place precisely in Narvik, and the city is once again an important hub for Norwegian and Allied preparedness. Narvik is the most important shipping port for mineral resources in Norway and Scandinavia. The port is also one of four Nordic ports for receiving Allied reinforcements. In addition, Narvik is the terminus of the Ofot Line, which ensures a train connection to Kiruna in Sweden," states the press release about the visit to Narvik.

Total defence, democracy, and how we together build safe and strong local communities will be a natural framework for the King's visit to Narvik, it further reads.

Today, the norwegian government will present next year's national budget.

In 2026, the Sámi Parliament received over 800 million Noregian kroner for the first time. Now the Sámi Parliament has decided that it needs an additional 767,5 million kroner, meaning a total of more than 1,5 billion kroner from the state in 2027, according to NRK.

This demand follows the historic report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commision. The Sámi Parliament is calling on the state to take responsibility for closing the gap between the formal rights of the Sámi people and what is actually implemented in practice.

Because the Sámi Parliament is an elected body, it is recuested that the funda not earmarked, so the Sámi community itself can decide what it needs most.

Among other things, they want to use the money for nred museum buildings, a Sámi language Commisioner, and efforts to rebuild in the aftermath of the Norwegiansation policy.

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has registered growing interest from state threat actors in Norway's coastal and maritime areas.

"We are seeing very significant interest in the Arctic and the High North from a number of countries. This mainly concerns Russia, but also China," Jon Fitje Hoffmann, director at PST, tild the norwegian broadcaster NRK.

According to Hoffmann, Russia is seeking to map Norwegian ports, communications cables, ans the thousands of kilometres of oil and gas pipelines on the seabed.

He said this could be part of general intelligence gathering, but could also serve as preparation for potential acts of sabotage.

PST is now urging the public to report unusual activity, including incidents that fall outside the normal pattern and people or vessels behaving suspiciously.

PST also advises individuals and businesses to be alert to unexplained friend requests on social media.

Sweden’s Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson is giving up her attempt to form a new government, Swedish Yle reports.

She was given the task after the left-green opposition won the parliamentary election by a narrow margin.

The decision comes after the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) announced that it would support the Moderate Party’s candidate, Andreas Norlén, for the position of Speaker of the Riksdag.

Government negotiations were expected to be challenging, as both the Left Party and the Centre Party (Centerpartiet) have said that they cannot sit in the same government.

Andersson says that the Left Party’s support for Norlén has created a new political constellation in the Riksdag. She therefore believes that there are no longer sufficient conditions for the government negotiations to succeed.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar rejects in an interview with Expressen that the party has entered into an alliance with the Moderate Party.

The Social Democrats have not yet announced whom the party will nominate as Speaker. Norlén is therefore the only candidate at the moment.

The task of forming a new government will now be given to someone else.

Canada has signed a non-binding agreement with the Swedish defence and technology company Saab to purchase six GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, reports Forsvarets forum.

The aircraft will be built in Canada ans used mainly for surveillance in the Arctic. The agreement also includes the purchase of GlobalEye systems and training.

Canada had been in talks with several U.S. companies about similar agreements, but ultimately chose Saab as its supplier.

Norway and Canada are set to draft an agreement on closer defense cooperation and to train and operate more closely together in the Arctic.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed on this during a meeting in Ottawa on Sunday, NTB reports.

"Canada is a close partner for Norway and an important NATO ally. We share many fundamental values and have common interests in the Arctic. In turbulent times, Norway needs a broader foundation to stand on. We are now further strengthening our cooperation with Canada," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says in a press release.

Earlier this year, Norway and Canada established a strategic partnership covering areas such as Arctic security, support for Ukraine, energy, critical minerals, space, artificial intelligence, and climate.

In July, Canada joined the submarine cooperation initiative between Norway and Germany. The three countries are set to acquire identical submarines.

"This will strengthen our—and NATO’s—ability to monitor maritime areas in the north. It is crucial for our shared security," says Støre.

Norway and Canada also intend to increase cooperation between their respective defense industries. In a joint statement, the prime ministers affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine.

Furthermore, the Norwegian and Canadian polar institutes will collaborate more closely on Arctic research.

Kebnekaise’s ice-covered southern peak continues to melt, although at a much slower rate than in recent years, reports SVT.

This year’s measurement puts the peak at 2,088.3 metres above sea level, 10 centimetres lower than at the same time last year.

The ice-free northern peak, which stands at 2,096.8 metres, has therefore been Sweden’s highest point for the eighth consecutive year.

"This year’s limited melting is small compared with previous years, but the peak is still losing height despite the cold summer," says Johanna Dahlkvist of the Tarfala Research Station at Stockholm University.

The southern peak has lost around 30 metres since systematic measurements began in 1951. Last year, it lost 1.5 metres, while melting reached as much as 3.4 metres in 2024.

Finland’s largest genetic research project, FinnGen, plans to expand its database to include health information on the entire Finnish population, reports Yle.

The expansion could involve data on around 7.1 million people, including diagnoses, hospital visits and laboratory results. FinnGen already holds genetic and health-related data on more than 500,000 Finns.

The plans have raised concerns about privacy and data security. Tomi Voutilainen, a professor of public law, warns that it is unclear to citizens how their data will be processed.

Yle also reports two security breaches involving FinnGen, in 2020 and 2023.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will welcome the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, to Ottawa, Ontario from September 20 to 21.

During the visit, the leaders will discuss opportunities to deepen the Canada-Norway partnership across key sectors, such as energy, critical minerals, and sovereign technology – including artificial intelligence and aerospace, a press release states.

“Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Støre will also advance Canada and Norway’s defence and security partnership. As Arctic nations and NATO Allies, they will discuss efforts to strengthen security and resilience in the Arctic and North Atlantic, modernise our defence capabilities, and bolster secure and resilient defence supply chains that support our collective security," states the press release.

“Canada and Norway are strong partners with growing ties in energy, defence, and technology. I look forward to hosting Prime Minister Støre as we deepen our economic relationship, strengthen the NATO Alliance, and create new opportunities for Canadian and Norwegian workers and businesses,” says Prime Minister Carney.

Chief of Defence Command Finland, Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen visited Boden, Sweden earlier this September.

The topic of the visit was Finnish-Swedish defence cooperation (FISE), particularly from the perspective of Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland).

As HNN has reported, NATO's Forward Land Force Finland (FLF Finland) was officially established during a ceremony in Boden in June 2026.

The core of NATO Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF) is a battle group in the Norrbotten Brigade, in Boden, Northern Sweden. It will be able to move rapidly to Finnish Lapland to conduct operations under a multinational staff element in Rovaniemi.

The Chief of Defence Command Finland inspected the battlegroup and met with its commander.

“The unit specialises in Arctic conditions, which is important not only to Finland but to the entire Alliance’s deterrence and defence. I was impressed, seeing the trained and motivated unit in action”, Lieutenant General Virtanen said.

“Our cooperation with Sweden has advanced steadily, which we can now see as concrete steps in operational planning and activities. I want to thank the Swedes for their commitment. Finland and Sweden are working side-by-side and we are stronger together”, he concluded.

During the visit Lieutenant General Virtanen and his hosts also had broader conversations on developing bilateral cooperation and cooperation in the High North. The conversations also included cooperation on the monitoring and safeguarding of territorial integrity, which Finland announced late August.

The Lapland Rescue Department in northern Finland is acquiring three new drones costing around 8,000 euros each to upgrade its equipment, according to the Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The new drones feature improved weather resistance, more advanced cameras, a thermal imaging camera, and automated search capabilities that allow the crew to focus on analyzing the footage rather than piloting the aircraft.

The drones are used for a wide range of tasks, from smoke detection and fire localization to searching for missing persons. Additionally, they are equipped with useful accessories such as spotlights and loudspeakers to deliver instructions during rescue operations.

As part of a new pilot project, the rescue department will also test a release mechanism that allows drones to drop self-inflating lifebuoys directly to people requiring assistance in the water.

In the spring, Russian submarines simulated the deployment of new technology designed to disable critical undersea cables near Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. However, the Russian exercise was exposed and thwarted by Norway, the UK and the US, anonymous Western officials told Reuters.

More specifically, the exercise was reportedly conducted by Russia's Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (GUGI).

In April, the UK and Norway announced that they had been monitoring Russian submarines from the Kola Peninsula that attempted to map underwater infrastructure in the North Atlantic. The discovery of the new weapon near Svalbard and the US involvement have not been previously reported.