National Defense | Crisis management and the Border Guard must be included in defense costs, the committee believes

The Treasury Committee should also present the cost-effectiveness of Finland’s conscription system and the large reserve compared to the expenses of the paid army.

Finland defense spending should also take into account other expenses than just the Ministry of Defense’s expenses, says the Parliament’s Finance Committee.

The matter is important when considering whether Finland meets the NATO countries’ goal of spending two percent of its gross domestic product on defense. The Ministry of Defense finances, for example, the operations of the Defense Forces and procurement of defense materials.

The committee draws attention to the fact that, viewed in this way, the size of Finland’s defense budget will fall below the target limit after 2025. The Ministry of Defense’s share of the state budget was around 1.2–1.4 percent throughout the 2010s, until it rose to around two percent in the last two years due to, for example, fighter jet acquisitions. In the long term, the share is estimated to settle at 1.5–1.7 percent.

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Committee it is important that defense spending also takes into account the costs of military crisis management, the Border Guard’s costs for military national defense and border control, as well as military and civilian pensions.

“It is also important that the calculation model or national budgeting be developed in the future in such a way that all the costs caused by NATO membership in the various administrative sectors can be included in the 2 percent goal,” the committee believes.

The committee should also present the cost-effectiveness of Finland’s conscription system and the large reserve compared to the expenses of the paid army.

Chairman of the Defense Committee Antti Häkkänen (kok) expressed its concern about the decrease in the share of defense spending on Thursday and wanted policies on the matter already at the beginning of the next election period.

The majority of NATO countries currently do not meet the two percent goal.

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Finland applied for NATO membership last spring, and the bill for its implementation is now being considered by the parliament. The committee presented its position in a statement that was completed on Friday.

In the parliament, a total of four committees give a statement on NATO membership to the foreign affairs committee, which, based on the report prepared by the plenary session, decides on the matter.

Previously, the Constitutional Law Committee has ruled that the parliament can decide on membership with a simple majority. The Defense Committee, on the other hand, has emphasized the importance of own defense and other alliances also as a member of NATO.

After the Finance Committee’s opinion, the Foreign Affairs Committee is only waiting for the Intelligence Control Committee’s opinion. The missing statement is expected to be completed next week.

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