Vesa Virtanen
Lieutenant General
Chief of Defence Command Finland
Finland
The finalization of the Finnish NATO accession was symbolically celebrated with flag raising ceremonies in key NATO headquarters and Finnish military installations on 4 April 2023. This day ended a long era of neutrality and what in the post-Cold War years evolved into a policy of military non-alignment. Despite the approach of not relying on foreign assistance in national security, Finland has decades of experience in international defence co-operation. Starting from the 1950s, various peacekeeping operations have familiarized us with working side-by-side with other nations. In the 1990s, the scope broadened further when Finland joined the NATO Partnership for Peace programme and actively took part in international crisis management as well as in multinational exercises. Worth noting is also the long-lasting systematic policy of procuring interoperable western military equipment.
All the aforementioned means that nearly the whole Finnish active-duty military cadre have served their whole career in an environment where international co-operation in various forms has been the norm. Thus, NATO membership can be seen more as a continuum of leaning westwards that has long been ongoing.
Prior to the NATO membership, the Finnish military ethos has strongly emphasized the national defence of our own borders and doing this solely with our own resources. Partner nation assistance has been regarded as an add on that has been prepared for, but not relied on in any way. This sets the foundation of what Finland brings to the Alliance – a solid and comprehensive defence plan that is based on existing capabilities and well trained, sufficiently resourced and mainly reserve-based troops. As NATO Article 3 requires, Finland has through the years maintained an independent capacity to resist an armed attack.
Finland’s accession to NATO sets a requirement for a new mindset for Finnish military thinking. We are no longer preparing to fight alone, but together with our Allies. Finland’s eastern border stands for approximately half of NATO’s border with Russia. Thus, it is undoubtedly also in the interest of all the allied countries that Finland concentrates first and foremost on the defence of its own territory. Simultaneously, there is a need to ensure our capability, willingness and commitment to defend the whole Alliance in accordance with NATO’s 360-degree approach to security.
On a larger scale, the Finnish NATO accession can be described as plug-and-play. The message heard from the NATO military leadership has been “come as you are” all the way. We are irrefutably interoperable with NATO. Underneath this surface, there are naturally countless bigger and smaller adjustments to be made. Some of these are more urgent actions, but mostly it is a question of long-term development. The guiding principle to determine all necessary changes has been and will be to proceed within the limits of the carrying capacity of our organization. The current security environment does not entail jeopardizing force readiness. Any risk of overwhelming changes has to be mitigated to constantly ensure our ability to regulate our posture according to need and, if necessary, fight here and now.
The shorter-term changes of joining the Alliance are more of a technical nature. The harmonization of operational plans, as well as ensuring proper command and control capabilities are examples of functions that started immediately after the membership application. These were actually already finished to a large extent, or at least in good progress, when the accession was finalized.
There are a number of legislative adjustments that have been initiated to ensure our ability to participate in the deterrence and defence of the Alliance. These include, among others, revising the Finnish Defence Forces’ tasks, as well as clarifying the legal framework for receiving and sending out units, capabilities and personnel.
In the longer term, there are several lines of efforts to work on. The NATO Defence Planning Process sets requirements on member nations that have to be considered in the mid- and longer-term development of capabilities. Assigning personnel into NATO command structure positions is vital on one hand to fulfill our obligations, but also to build a broader understanding within our personnel of working in the Alliance. The estimated amount of 100+ officers and NCOs will temporarily stretch our resources, but in the long run serving in various NATO structures will be an integral part of the career paths for people in uniform.
Finland’s NATO accession does not require a total defence reform. The foundations for defending Finnish territory according to NATO Article 3 are in place. There is a strong commitment to ensure our ability to also fulfill Article 5 requirements. Step by step, we will gather experience and develop our interoperability accordingly. The further integration should not be looked at as a project, but rather a process. We are NATO and we are stronger together!