The Nordic policies

Press, 23 October 1984, Page 12

The Nordic policies

All the Nordic countries have signed the nuclear non-prolifera-tion treaty. Their, policies: • Sweden Sweden is neutral. It does not allow any nuclear weapons to be stationed on its territory. Political debate in the 1960 s led to a conclusion that Sweden did not need nuclear weapons and would not develop them. Visits by nuclear-powered ships have never been an issue, but Sweden does not expect any nuclear-armed vessels to make formal calls, and would almost certainly veto such a proposal. Sweden’s main problem is unauthorised incursions by Soviet submarines. Sweden does have nuclear power plants and consumes the greatest amount of nuclear-generated electricity per capita of any country in the world. It also exports nucleargenerated electricity to Norway and Denmark. Concern exists in other Nordic countries that a Swedish power plant melt-down could strew radiation across the borders, and there is public unease in Sweden about the safety of the plants. • Denmark Denmark is a full member of N.A.T.0., but in 1957 passed a law that no allied forces could be stationed in Denmark in peacetime. The Danish Government has a firm commitment to keep nuclear weapons off Danish soil, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Public opinion is strongly opposed to nuclear weapons, and official policy is that no allied nuclear weapons may be stationed in Denmark in peacetime. Policy on calls by nuclearpowered vessels is to decide each case individually. Nuclear-powered ice-breakers, for example, are allowed to visit. Calls by nuclear-armed vessels are banned. • Opposition extends-to nuclear power plants — there are none in Denmark, but the country does import nuclear-generated electricity from Sweden.

® Finland Finland, bordering the Soviet Union, is neutral, but has a treaty of friendship, co-operation, and mutual assistance with the U.S.S.R. That treaty commits Finland to a possible defence co-operation with the Soviet Union if Finland — or the Soviet Union through Finland — is attacked or threatened with attack. The treaty makes no specific reference to nuclear weapons. The possibility that the Soviet Union might station nuclear weapons on Finnish territory came up last year, arousing heated political and public debate. President Mauno Koivisto said then that “we will not allow nuclear weapons to be brought into our country. The idea that the Soviet Union might force them on us is insulting to our neighbouring country.” The 1947 Peace Treaty of Paris forbids possession, construction or testing of atomic weapons by Finland although as a soverign nation Finland could abrogate that treaty at any time. No official policy exists on visits by either nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered vessels. Soviet nuclear-powered ice-breakers and merchant ships probably call at Finnish ports. 9 Iceland Iceland, a country with a tiny population (about 240,000) is a member of N.A.T.O. but has no armed forces of its own. The United States has bases at Keflavic and Hofn. Icelandic policy is that no nuclear weapons may be stationed on Icelandic soil in peacetime, but Icelanders have wondered publicly whether there are any nuclear weapons at Keflavik. The United States, as with its policy on ships visiting New Zealand, has refused to confirm or deny whether Keflavik is nuclearfree. . - j •" ■ • - - Stationing of nuclear weapons in wartime would — officially — need a decision by the Government.

Government policy does not cover calls by nuclear-powered vessels. No ships known to be nuclear-armed have ever requested docking facilities, and N.A.T.O. vessels seldom ball. The Government has let it be known that it would not welcome nucleararmed vessels. © Norway Norway is a member of N.A.T.O but in. 1949 decided that no allied forces could be stationed in Norway in peacetime. In 1957 it declared that no intermediaterange missiles could be stationed there, and in 1961 it was decided that no nuclear weapons of any kind would be allowed into Norway in peacetime, and that Norway would not develop any of its own. Stationing of nuclear arms in wartime would need a Government decision. After the -Conservatives took office in 1981 the Foreign Ministry declared that Government policy “does not prevent the Norwegian defence, in the event of war, from being supported by external forces which have at their disposal nuclear weapons for tactical use by their own units. Both the insertion of reinforcements and the use of their nuclear weapons require Norwegian consent.” The Prime Minister, Mr Kare Willoch, declared that the establishment of a formal nuclear weapons-free zone would endanger N.A.T.O.’s unity, and a Government study in 1982 concluded that Norwegian participation in a nuclear weapons-free zone would result in the disappearance of allied security guarantees. No specific law prohibits visits by nuclear-armed or powered vessels, but all visiting ships must conform with security regulations, and any proposal for a nucleararmed ship to visit Norway would be likely to cause heated debate and would probably be banned. Norway has no nuclear power plants; it imports nuclear-gener-ated electricity from Sweden. It does have nuclear reactors used in research.