Nordic cooperation for the benefit of Nordic nationals has deep roots. They go back at least to 1888, when Denmark and Sweden negotiated an agreement on the protection of the poor and their repatriation. Nordic cooperation was strengthened after World War II, when the intention was to grant individual rights to Nordic citizens, making it resemble the idea behind Union citizenship introduced by the Maastricht Treaty of 1993. Already in the 1950s, the five Nordic countries secured equal treatment in social-security and social matters for all Nordic nationals regardless of economic status. They also aimed at harmonising their nationality laws, thus going beyond what the European Union (EU) is currently doing. In 1954, a joint labour market was initiated, preceding the internal market of the EU. All the Nordic countries became members of the European Economic Agreement (EEA) at the beginning of the 1960s, but formalised at the same time their Nordic cooperation with the Helsinki Agreement of 1962. In the 1970s the Nordic countries abandoned the idea of creating a Nordic economic community (NORDEK) when Denmark, as the first Nordic country, joined the EEC in 1973. Denmark’s accession to the EEC might have acted as a brake on the development of Nordic cooperation. But, on the other hand, it also led to the creation of the Nordic Council of Ministers to keep Nordic cooperation alive and on-going....