The opposition Left Alliance has submitted a dissenting opinion about the matter.
Finland should double its defence spending in the 2030s, according to a fresh report from the parliamentary working group on homeland defence.
The report, submitted to Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP) on Monday, said that ensuring the country’s national defence capabilities will require funding decisions across governmental terms.
The report’s key conclusion was that Russia poses a long-term and difficult-to-predict threat to the security of Finland as well as Nato.
This year, Finland will spend 7.7 billion euros on defence. In the report, the parties stated that the need would increase to over 14 billion euros by 2029 and remain at the 14–15 billion euro level until at least 2036.
The report also said that changes in the nature of warfare, technological developments, and the redefinition of transatlantic burden-sharing have affected Finland’s operating environment.
“Having a broad agreement on Finland’s defence development is our key strength,” Häkkänen said in a press release.
“The final report of the parliamentary working group shows that we have a broad agreement on key defence policies. It will enable long-term cooperation, spanning across government terms, to strengthen Finland’s defence and security,” he continued.
The report said the resources required to maintain and develop Finland’s defence capabilities would clearly exceed the 3.5 percent target set by the military alliance.
“We will fix the deficiencies in our defence system and strengthen Finland’s defence with determination to counter the long-term threat posed by Russia,” Häkkänen said.
“Our shared situation picture and commitment to raising Finland’s defence expenditure in coming years will ensure that people in Finland can have a safe and happy future,” he added.
The cross-party parliamentary defence working group was chaired by his NCP colleague, MP Jukka Kopra.
Left Alliance holds different opinion
The ministry noted that the opposition Left Alliance submitted a dissenting opinion about the matter.
The Left Alliance’s parliamentary group chair, Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, called for broad and open discussion about the planned rise in defence spending.
“The Left Alliance shares the working group’s view in the report that the operating environment for Finnish and Nato defence is unstable and that Russia is a long-term and difficult-to-predict threat that must be prepared for. However, our views on the report’s conclusions differ somewhat from those of the other parliamentary groups,” Pekonen said, according to news agency STT.
“The report does not clearly highlight the drastic change that has taken place in US foreign policy, which also affects the security situation in Finland and the whole of Europe, and Nato’s activities. The US commitment to Nato, for example, is no longer a given,” Pekonen said.
According to the Left Alliance, Europe should take more responsibility for its own security and reduce its dependence on the United States.
“In the current security situation, Finland and Europe must invest in defence. However, the needs presented in this report for developing and maintaining defence clearly exceed the costs of even the 3.5-percent target level set by Nato,” Pekonen told STT.
“Before drawing such conclusions, it would be necessary to hold a broad parliamentary debate and citizen debate on financing defence spending in the billions,” said Pekonen, who was minister of social affairs and health in the previous government.
