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25-745: The aim of the organization is to strengthen the member countries' defence capabilities by identifying areas for cooperation and to promote effective solutions. The memorandum of understanding was signed in Helsinki on November 4, 2009, succeeding the Nordic Supportive Defence Structures (NORDSUP), the Nordic armaments cooperation (NORDAC) and the Nordic Coordinated Arrangement for Military Peace Support (NORDCAPS), previous parallel cooperative arrangements. Participation in

50-410: A common example of bilateralism. Since most economic agreements are signed according to the specific characteristics of the contracting countries to give preferential treatment to each other, not a generalized principle but a situational differentiation is needed. Thus through bilateralism, states can obtain more tailored agreements and obligations that only apply to particular contracting states. However,

75-516: A common procurement project. Historically, such cooperation has enabled the Nordic nations to take advantage of upwards of €60 million in cost savings. Wanting a more integrated military in the Nordic countries, the Nordic militaries began a search for a shared Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU), including all clothing from underwear to jacket. The countries each provided a list of demands to suppliers, wanting customization and ability to easily modify them for

100-463: A document constitutes a binding contract depends only on the presence or absence of well-defined legal elements in the text proper of the document (the so-called " four corners "). The required elements are offer and acceptance , consideration , and the intention to be legally bound ( animus contrahendi ). In the US, the specifics can differ slightly depending on whether the contract is for goods (falls under

125-455: A formal, legally enforceable contract (though an MoU is often a first step towards the development of a formal contract). In the United Kingdom , the term MoU is commonly used to refer to an agreement between parts of The Crown . The term is often used in the context of devolution , for example the 1999 concordat between the central Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and

150-466: A liberalism perspective, because building a series of bilateral arrangements with small states can increase a state's influence. There has been a long debate on the merits of bilateralism versus multilateralism . The first rejection of bilateralism came after the First World War when many politicians concluded that the complex pre-war system of bilateral treaties had made war inevitable. This led to

175-418: A matter of law, the title of MoU does not necessarily mean the document is binding or not binding under international law . To determine whether a particular MoU is meant to be a legally binding document (i.e., a treaty), one needs to examine the parties’ intent as well as the signatories' position (e.g., Minister of Foreign Affairs vs. Minister of Environment). A careful analysis of the wording will also clarify

200-411: A wide range of climates. Following a series of tests, a system was chosen and the first orders made in 2022. While the clothing systems are the same, each country uses its own camouflage pattern. NORDEFCO has not generally been seen as a mutual defence pact and it is not regarded as a command structure, but its members have increasingly added features that show some resemblance to a defence pact. In 2021,

225-459: A yearly screening process, where all participating nations provide input from their procurement plans. The plans are compared, screened, and cooperation possibilities, vetted by ALCS, are identified. If considered suitable for further cooperation, established formally as a Subgroup. These Subgroups comprise experts from the participating nations, and are tasked with establishing the foundations for how cooperation can happen; for instance gearing towards

250-420: Is a type of agreement between two ( bilateral ) or more ( multilateral ) parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used either in cases where parties do not imply a legal commitment or in situations where the parties cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement . Whether

275-620: Is determined by the parties' internal law and depends to a large degree on the subject agreed upon. MoUs that are kept confidential (i.e., not registered with the UN) cannot be enforced before any UN organ, and it may be concluded that no obligations under international law have been created. Although MoUs in the multilateral field are seldom seen, the transnational aviation agreements are actually MoUs. Examples include: Examples from U.S. law include: Examples from international development contexts include: Bilateralism Bilateralism

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300-608: Is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states . It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism , which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When states recognize one another as sovereign states and agree to diplomatic relations, they create a bilateral relationship. States with bilateral ties will exchange diplomatic agents such as ambassadors to facilitate dialogues and cooperations. Economic agreements, such as free trade agreements (FTAs) or foreign direct investment (FDI), signed by two states, are

325-547: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Despite the high profile of modern multilateral systems such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization , most diplomacy is still done at the bilateral level. Bilateralism has a flexibility and ease lacking in most compromise-dependent multilateral systems. In addition, disparities in power, resources, money, armament, or technology are more easily exploitable by

350-611: The Scottish Environment Directorate . MoUs can also be used between a government agency and a non-commercial, non-governmental organization. In international relations, MoUs fall under the broad category of treaties and should be registered in the United Nations treaty collection. In practice and in spite of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs ' insistence that registration be done to avoid 'secret diplomacy', MoUs are sometimes kept confidential. As

375-530: The Uniform Commercial Code ) or services (falls under the common law of the state). Many companies and government agencies use MoUs to define a relationship between departments, agencies or closely held companies. In business , an MoU is typically a legally non-binding agreement between two (or more) parties, outlining terms and details of a mutual understanding or agreement, noting each party's requirements and responsibilities—but without establishing

400-451: The NORDEFCO is voluntary and states can choose which areas they want to collaborate within and to what extent. This means that cooperation can occur bilaterally as well as among all five members. It is also considered within the organizational scope to work with non-Nordic countries in fields where there is an added value to doing so. According to the official webpage, the cooperation is based on

425-625: The Nordic Defence Policy Steering Committee, composed of senior departmental officers from the member countries. Underneath this committee is the Nordic Military Coordination Committee, composed of flag officers who represent the member countries' Chiefs of Defence . The areas of cooperation (COPAs) are divided into five sections: These are staffed with senior officers from the participating countries and mandated to further coordinate and implement

450-466: The conviction that there is much to be gained through cost sharing, joint solutions, and joint actions. Practical Nordic and Scandinavian defence cooperation has been impeded by their differing memberships: The official presidency of the organization rotates among the member states, but the Nordic Ministers of Defence are ultimately responsible for NORDEFCO; they meet twice a year. They preside over

475-564: The creation of the multilateral League of Nations (which was disbanded in failure after 26 years). A similar reaction against bilateral trade agreements occurred after the Great Depression , when it was argued that such agreements helped produce a cycle of rising tariffs that deepened the economic downturn. Thus, after the Second World War , the West turned to multilateral agreements such as

500-412: The defence ministers of Denmark, Norway and Sweden signed an agreement of increased cooperation among their militaries with a coordination structure that would make it easier to "act together in peace, crisis or conflict" in the southern Nordic region, and in 2022 it was agreed to further enhance the capabilities by allowing access to each other's airspace and military infrastructure. A similar agreement for

525-574: The exact nature of the document. The International Court of Justice has provided some insight into the determination of the legal status of a document in the landmark case of Qatar v. Bahrain , 1 July 1994. One advantage of MoUs over more formal instruments is that, because obligations under international law may be avoided, they can often be put into effect without requiring legislative approval. Hence, MoUs are often used to modify and adapt existing treaties, in which case these MoUs have factual treaty status. The decision concerning ratification, however,

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550-508: The given tasks. The recommendations reported back from the COPAs also form the basis for the decisions made by the Nordic Defence Policy Steering Committee and the Nordic Military Coordination Committee. In addition to the Cooperation Areas, Acquisition & Life Cycle Support (ALCS) is tasked with coordinating and facilitating armaments relating cooperation issues. This is performed through

575-507: The northern Nordic region already existed between Finland, Norway and Sweden, which was further updated in 2022. Following Finland's and Sweden's request to join NATO in 2022, Denmark, Iceland and Norway released a statement saying that in the case of an attack on Finland or Sweden before they had become part of NATO, all necessary means would be used to help in their defence. Memorandum of understanding A memorandum of understanding ( MoU )

600-445: The states will face a trade-off because it is more wasteful in transaction costs than the multilateral strategy. In a bilateral strategy, a new contract has to be negotiated for each participant. So it tends to be preferred when transaction costs are low and the member surplus, which corresponds to " producer surplus " in economic terms, is high. Moreover, this will be effective if an influential state wants control over small states from

625-399: The stronger side in bilateral diplomacy, which powerful states might consider as a positive aspect of it, compared to the more consensus-driven multilateral form of diplomacy, where the one state-one vote rule applies. A 2017 study found that bilateral tax treaties, even if intended to "coordinate policies between countries to avoid double taxation and encourage international investment", had

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