In NATO, Finland participates in maintaining the alliance’s collective deterrence and defence. Therefore, Finland’s territory falls under the responsibility of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe (SACEUR) and NATO’s command and command structure. The rights and obligations under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty shall apply.

Finland’s defence will be integrated into NATO’s common defence, and Finland must, if necessary, be able to send Finnish troops to assist another NATO member state as well as receive troops from NATO member states to assist Finland. The possible obligation to defend allies affects the tasks of the Finnish Defence Forces.

Finland is now participating fully in NATO’s work and in decision-making on security policy issues that are central to Finland. The increasing workload requires more personnel to be deployed on NATO missions, such as serving at the headquarters.

Finland’s participation in international exercises is increasing, and the focus is on very demanding exercises. Finland also participates in military exercises in which common territorial defence against external threats is exercised in accordance with Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. NATO exercises are also organised in Finland.

The exchange of intelligence with other NATO countries will increase, and Finland will participate in maintaining NATO’s common situational awareness. Finland participates in the gathering of intelligence and receives information on the military operating environment.

Within NATO, all member states are expected to share the risks, responsibilities and benefits associated with collective defence. Member states develop their military interoperability and participate in the activities of the alliance in ways that are reasonable in relation to the size and economic performance of the country. Finland is expected to make the same contribution as other NATO countries of a similar size.

The costs of Finland’s NATO membership consist of contributions to NATO’s common budgets and participation in NATO activities. Budget contributions are based on the size of each member state’s economy. Finland’s contribution to NATO’s budgets is approximately 0.9 %, which would have meant EUR 27 million in 2022. Most of the costs of membership arise from activities such as the salaries of personnel deployed on NATO missions and the implementation of objectives arising from NATO’s defence planning process.

NATO’s jointly agreed target level for defence spending as a proportion of GDP is at least 2 %. In addition, it has been agreed that at least 20 % of defence spending should be spent on the procurement of new defence equipment. Finland fulfils both objectives.