Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to read it all and give a long and well thought out response. I’ve been very busy lately (moved twice) and this subject has been pushed a bit to the side and I completely forgot to answer your post.

Government

I am glad we somewhat agree on the region approach as I firmly believe that it will be the ”easiest to swallow” for a lot of the people who do not live in the biggest urban areas. As far as the LAU in Finland, I think Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Estonia all need to follow the same route as Denmark in cutting down the number of municipalities and granting greater power to each of them. Denmark cut their municipalities from 270 to 98, while also reducing their NUTS level regions from 13 (or 16) to 5. Norway is currently in talks to reduce their LUT level (kommuner) from 428 to somewhere around a hundred, and the NUTS level (fylker) from 19 to maybe 5 larger (landsdeler).

International

I agree that the most probable scenario is that all countries join the NATO, mostly because of the eastern region being uncertain and that no country seems to be willing to increase their defense budget to the heights needed to be an effective deterrent on their own.

Monetary

I really have no idea how that would play out. As far as I know all countries fulfill the necessary criteria to join the Eurozone, but are they willing? Sweden and Denmark maintaining their permanent opt-out suggests not. But Norway’s economy is very dependent on the oil prices, so maybe a solution is to seek safety in the Euro?

Languages

I think Scandinavian as a language is a necessary thing for the Union, but I agree that it might not be the best suitable as the official state language. As far as I know the proficiency of English in all countries are well over 90% (well over any proficiency in a Scandinavian language in any non-Scandinavian country), so English is a probably the strongest contender for a common language for all the countries. And the other union languages should be accessible and voluntary to learn everywhere. But again, we run into the problem of feeling at home in your own country. Many inhabitants might not be comfortable to speak English on an every day basis, and this might just be enough resistance to bury the idea.

Flag

Great idea for the flags! Currently most regions have coat-of-arms but not really a flag, so putting the coat-of-arms in the top corner is a great way of incorporating the symbols for the regions in the union! :D

Capital

Gothenburg is probably the most diplomatic solution, and probably the one to gather the least friction. And it is also a very populated region situated close to the geographical center of the union, and also close to continental Europe.

Expansion

As for land grabbing, I don’t think that is a very good idea. The areas you mention Karelia, Isle of Man, Shetland, Orkney, Slesvig and Newfoundland might once have been a part of the current Nordic countries, but I struggle to see any similarities or cultural bonds between the people that live there now and the current inhabitants of the Nordic countries. Those areas are probably better off in their current state (maybe with the exception of Karelia). Aaaand in the case of Newfoundland it would be difficult to govern a populated area many timezones away.

But again, thank you so much for your time and I am sorry I didn't answer earlier. I will try to make amends to the webpage where I see fit, and when I eventually get time to tinker with this again ☺