Scandinavian defence union A Scandinavian defence union between Sweden , Norway , Finland and Denmark was planned after the end of World War II . Finland had fought two wars against the Soviet Union , Denmark and Norway had been occupied by Germany between 1940 and 1945 , and Sweden , having been a neutral state throughout the war , had still felt its effects . The four governments agreed that integration in the area of defence was needed , although specific arrangements and the nature of a defence union would be subject to later negotiations . The position of Finland . Finland had fought two wars , the Winter War and the Continuation War , against the Soviet Union ; and also one minor war , the Lapland War , against Nazi Germany . Before these wars Finland had close relations with the Scandinavian countries . After the Continuation War where the Soviet Union forced Finland to sue for peace , but failed in its goal of conquering and annexing the country ( in a manner similar to the Baltic States ) , Finland became neutral and retained democratic government and market economy . However , as the country shared 1 , 300 kilometres of border with USSR , the position of the Soviet Union could not be ignored in Finnish politics . Regarding the Finnish membership in the Scandinavian defence union , far reaching discussions at state - level were made with the other candidate countries . These discussions were abruptly ended , when Sweden made a specific requirement , that approval from the Soviet Union must be received if Finland was to join . The Soviet answer was bluntly negative and Finland stayed neutral . In 1948 , Finland had signed the YYA Treaty with the Soviet Union , and according to the Soviet point of view , this agreement prohibited Finland ' s membership in any alliances that it could consider being of military nature , even in those created for defensive reasons . Interestingly , the YYA treaty did not stop the Soviet Union from creating the Warsaw Pact in 1955 . Norway and Denmark join NATO . The other three Scandinavian countries would , if they had entered into an alliance , have remained separate sovereign countries but acted as a single bloc in foreign policy and security issues . The proposed union was discussed by a joint Scandinavian committee during the winter of 1948 - 1949 , but the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union , and preparations for a western alliance that would result in the North Atlantic Treaty proved that the efforts were in vain . When it became known that the western alliance would not be able to supply the Scandinavian countries with armaments before meeting their own pressing needs , this issue ultimately proved to be the turning point for Norway , which resigned from the talks . Denmark was still willing to enter into an alliance with Sweden , but the Swedes saw few advantages in this and the proposal failed . Norway and Denmark subsequently became signatory parties of the North Atlantic Treaty and members of NATO . The basis of Swedish neutrality . Sweden chose not to join NATO , despite a fierce debate on the issue . One of the strongest proponents was Herbert Tingsten , editor - in - chief of Dagens Nyheter , the largest newspaper in Sweden , who used editorials to argue why Sweden should join . He found a great opponent in the foreign minister of the time Östen Undén , who argued that Sweden should stay non - aligned and remain neutral in case of war . The position of Sweden as a member of the western world was not in doubt , but it could not , based on the choices it had made on foreign policy , join the western military alliance . Nordic Battlegroup . Whilst not a defence union , the Nordic Battlegroup is a multi - national military unit . It is one of eighteen European Union Battlegroups that support European Union defence and security objectives . It consists of around 2 , 800 troops from Sweden , Finland and Norway ( and with contributions from Ireland and Estonia . See also .