New Europe
May 26, 2015
Finland pushing for NATO membership
Richard Bos
Finland’s new government, a center-right coalition is pushing for stronger ties with NATO, including the possibility of joining NATO at ‘any time.’
This announcement was made in the Joint Policy Statement issued by the new government.
This move is sure to stir up some feelings in Russia, but the Finnish moves do not stop there. Prime Minister-elect Juha Sipilä’s administration is set to draft a foreign and security policy that will include a special segment to calculate the potential monetary costs and implications of full Finnish membership in NATO.
The Kremlin has publicly voiced their concern over the deepening relationship between Finland, Sweden and NATO and is surprised, as it believed that the inclusion of the nationalist and traditionally anti-NATO Finns Party in the new coalition would cool interest in joining the Western alliance.
The “NATO option” and the new government’s decision to conduct a cost analysis of NATO membership represent a significant milestone in the evolution of Finland’s historically neutral foreign and security policies.
“The geopolitical landscape has changed in the Nordic and Baltic areas since Russia became involved in Ukraine. The important issue of whether Finland will remain non-aligned or join NATO is a question for the future and a possible referendum. It is important to maintain the option of NATO membership,” said NCP’s party chairman Alexander Stubb.
The new government’s Joint Policy Position backs a comprehensive review of future spending on defense and introduced plans to produce a defense strategy report to define policy guidelines for the maintenance, development and use of Finland’s conscript-based system, which is currently organized along total defense structures.
The new government also plans to amend legislation to permit military- and national security-run surveillance programs to collect signals intelligence outside Finnish borders and in communications passing through Finnish territory.
All three partners in the new coalition support increasing the annual budgets in 2016-2025, with a particular focus on strengthening the purchase of military equipment, including the acquisition of a new fighter type and up to 64 aircraft to replace Finland’s aging F/A-18 Hornets.
“The previous government made sure that it did not apply for NATO membership during its time in office. The new government’s policy is different, it keeps the issue alive and the option open. It will be interesting to see how all this develops,” Tiilikainen said.
Security tensions caused by Russia in Ukraine and the Baltic Sea region is the primary driver of the changes in Finnish policy.
“The Finnish center-right government’s elevated interest in NATO is linked to a desire to build a stronger overall national defense capability through cost and task sharing. The appraisal and implications side of the planned investigation will help Finland determine, in a much more accurate way, the likely value of NATO membership,” Sundström said
Entry costs for Finland, in terms of compatibility of training and equipment, may require a bigger defense budget at the beginning, said Sundström. “In reality, much of the Finnish defense forces’ equipment and training is already of a NATO-standard,” he said.
Finland’s more security conscious mood is also fueling political movement on possible NATO membership, Sundström said.
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