Relationship dossier
Norway
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
Close NATO allies with a strong bilateral defense and North Atlantic security partnership
Norway toward United Kingdom
+70Norway cooperates with the United Kingdom through NATO and bilateral defense arrangements, including joint military activity and maritime security cooperation in the North Atlantic. The two governments have also coordinated support for Ukraine.
United Kingdom toward Norway
+70The United Kingdom cooperates with Norway through NATO and bilateral defense arrangements, including joint military activity and maritime security cooperation in the North Atlantic. The two governments have also coordinated support for Ukraine.
Overall relationship
+70The relationship is underpinned by sustained NATO cooperation and reinforced by bilateral defense arrangements, joint military activity, and coordination on North Atlantic security. Cooperation on support for Ukraine adds to the strategic alignment. These durable security ties outweigh limited areas of policy friction.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Norway and the United Kingdom maintain a close security partnership rooted in NATO and reinforced by bilateral defense cooperation. Their governments have arrangements for joint military activity and cooperation in the North Atlantic, including maritime security. They have also coordinated support for Ukraine. The relationship is strategically important, though the full scope and implementation of bilateral defense commitments are not clear.
Areas of tension
- Post-Brexit fishing access and fisheries management have at times caused bilateral friction.
Key developments
Norway and the United Kingdom agreed to deepen defense cooperation through the Lunna House agreement, including cooperation on maritime security and joint military activity.
The governments issued a bilateral declaration setting out a closer strategic partnership, including defense and security cooperation.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral defense commitments are unclear.
- The extent of ongoing coordination on maritime security and military operations may vary over time.