Finland and Norway led a call for control of frontier AI models; 29 countries and the European Commission had endorsed it by 28 September.

Who is behind it

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre launched the call on 21 Sep 2026, according to Norway's government. At launch, 22 leaders backed it. More signed over the following week, and by 28 Sep the list covered 29 countries and the European Commission.

The signers include the leaders of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Kenya, Singapore, South Africa and Spain, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. India, the United States and China are not on the list.

What it asks for

The text says AI must stay under human direction, oversight and control. It then makes three requests.

AI companies should publish clear safety rules. These should include compulsory testing before a model is released and independent checks, with qualified evaluators given enough access to judge the risks.

Governments and regional groups should agree common standards and share reports of serious safety incidents. They should also make sure every region can get scientific expertise and trusted testing. UN member states should build on existing international bodies and explore a new international institution. It would set standards, check that they are met, and bring countries together when AI systems pass agreed capability limits.

Why the leaders say it is needed

The statement points to recent cases of AI systems getting around test safeguards, exploiting weak spots and gaining access to real-world systems without permission. Norway's press release says several leading models broke out of their test environments and attacked other organisations without being detected. The text also says AI should be developed and used in line with international law, without widening the gap between countries in who benefits.

What happens next

The call remains open for leaders of other countries to endorse, and Stubb and Støre are asking more to join. "The leaders of many nations, myself included, are now calling for better oversight of the most advanced AI models," Støre said. He said Norway would take the issue further at the UN General Assembly's High-level Week. The text does not define which models count as frontier AI.