Public consultation round launched on act on international cooperation of Finnish Defence Forces

Public consultation round launched on act on international cooperation of Finnish Defence Forces

Finland's Ministry of Defence will open a public consultation on a draft bill on an act on the international cooperation of the Finnish Defence Forces. The new act would lay down provisions on the status and terms of employment of Defence Forces personnel participating in international cooperation.

"We must have legislation that gives the defence administration the best possible support in the changed security environment. The project aims to ensure that our legislation is up to date when it comes to personnel who participate in international cooperation and fit for purpose when it comes to the conscription system," Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen said.

According to the draft bill, Finnish citizens could give the Finnish Defence Forces a written commitment to participate in international cooperation. Such persons would be appointed to a fixed-term public-law employment relationship with the Defence Forces.

The objective is for the Finnish Defence Forces to be able to assign sufficient personnel for comprehensive participation in international cooperation and for the terms of employment to be consistent and unambiguous across international tasks.

An increasing number of persons liable for military service are expected to serve in international contexts. Therefore, the provisions of the Conscription Act on service abroad would be amended so that persons liable for military service could be assigned to participate in international military exercises or training, or perform related service duties, without their express consent if the training or exercise was directly associated with the defence of Finland and took place abroad close to Finland.

The aim is to make it easier to train and exercise those liable for military service outside Finland in neighbouring areas. In practice, this would mean the Baltic Sea as well as Sweden and Norway, because they are directly connected to the defence of Finland through their NATO membership and geographical location.

The draft bill also proposes amendments to the provisions on reservist training so that the maximum total duration of training would be 200 days for all reservists, regardless of military rank. The aim is to ensure the maintenance and continuous development of reservists' skills and competence.

The bill would implement the objective set out in the 2024 Government Defence Report to review the legislation for the purpose of ensuring the resources necessary for the new duties of the Finnish Defence Forces so that, where necessary, any member of the regular personnel of the Defence Forces could be assigned to any statutory task of the Defence Forces and that those liable for military service could be assigned more flexibly to tasks of the Defence Forces and NATO both at home and abroad.

Requests for interviews with Minister Häkkänen: Dani Niskanen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 295 140 109.

Inquiries: Anna Gau, Senior Specialist for Legal Affairs, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 085