Nordic Countries in September 2026: the most important developments in politics
The Nordic region's politics in September 2026 centred on a US-Denmark agreement over Greenland and the Swedish parliamentary election.
On September 18 to 20 Denmark and the United States announced a breakthrough in their dispute over Greenland. Denmark called the deal binding and said it respects Greenland's sovereignty. On September 22 and 23 President Donald Trump signed an Arctic security agreement with Denmark and Greenland at the UN General Assembly, which includes plans for two new US military bases in the Arctic. Trump called it "tremendous" and a Greenland representative said it ends a "destructive" chapter, while commentators noted that it largely builds on existing security arrangements and some scepticism about trust remained. Earlier in the month, on September 8, Iceland summoned the US ambassador over a map posted by Trump that showed Greenland and Iceland as part of the United States. The European Union expanded cooperation with Greenland during a visit to Nuuk on September 7, and Greenland rejected EU membership.
Sweden voted in mid-September in a tight election. The centre-left bloc led by Magdalena Andersson won a narrow victory over the right-wing bloc, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson resigned on September 17. The Sweden Democrats, part of the outgoing bloc, had been positioned to enter government for the first time. Andersson was asked to form a government on September 18 and faces difficult coalition talks. A voter fraud investigation cast a shadow over the result, and a newly elected MP stepped aside while it continued.
In Norway, King Haakon VIII took the oath before parliament on September 1 after the death of his father, King Harald V, whose state funeral took place in Oslo on September 9. Russia accused Norway of piracy after it seized a Russian vessel on September 3 and criticised the deployment of a US missile system to Norway as a threat. A Norwegian court accepted Marius Borg Høiby's appeal on September 10.
Elsewhere, Denmark plans to send its first migrants to return centres outside the EU from 2027, Iceland moved to ban whaling, and Iceland's earlier referendum rejected EU accession talks.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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