Government Defence Report 2024
At its session on 19 December 2024, the Finnish Government approved the Government Defence Report based on Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen’s presentation. The report will now be submitted to Parliament. This is the third ever Government Defence Report and the first published since Finland joined NATO. The guidelines set out in the report extend into the 2030s.
The Defence Report states that Russia has stepped towards a more open, unpredictable and protracted confrontation with the West. Russia will continue to pose a long-term security threat to Europe and Finland. Finland is on NATO’s external border. As such, it is important that Finland takes care of its own defence capability as part of the Alliance and that the Alliance’s deterrence and defence meets the demands of the threat environment.
According to the Defence Report, Finland’s membership in NATO has raised deterrence. Finland is supported by the forces and capabilities of the entire Alliance, including its nuclear deterrence as a last resort.
