The declaration adopted at the Nordic Council of Ministers' meeting is about making the Nordic region "safer, greener, and freer", says Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party).
We have focused on deepening our cooperation to combat cross-border organized crime, he says at a press conference with the five other Nordic leaders.
Nordic cooperation is more important than ever.
Gang crime is also highlighted by Jonas Gahr Støre.
The Swedish Prime Minister has been open about this, these are challenges that cross borders. In Norway, we see these elements coming from Sweden in all police districts.
Protect citizens
For Støre, gang crime is a "key issue" and he calls it a serious threat to the integrity and security of Nordic citizens, also mentioning Russia's war in Ukraine.
But the fight against this criminal trend is the key to protecting young people. It is very young people who are recruited into criminal activities, and this must be met with a firm hand.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says that the discussion with Ulf Kristersson has been good.
Criminals are hired in Sweden to enter Denmark and commit serious crimes in Denmark, particularly in Copenhagen. This is completely unacceptable. We are working closely with Sweden to put an end to this.
She is willing to give the Danish police all the tools they need to combat the crimes.
They destroy our entire way of thinking as Nordic countries, she says.
Migration to the EU
The declaration will also make it easier to communicate between authorities in the countries, accept foreign e-identification, and gain access to national ID for individuals who are permanently resident in another Nordic country, but work or, for example, own property or forest in Sweden.
The agreement was concluded at the Council of Ministers' meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, and is a step towards making the Nordic region the most integrated and sustainable region in the world by 2030.
In the declaration, the leaders are also agreed on continuing to cooperate in different formats to ensure a sustainable migration to the EU and the Nordic region in the future.
When we talk about migration, we also talk about crime, says Mette Frederiksen.
Our migration policy has been blind for far too long, today we are finally discussing this more openly.
