Finland eyes defense-spending boost well past NATO mark

HELSINKI — Finland’s conservative-led government has unveiled a broad plan to lift defense spending from $6.8 billion in 2025 to $11.5 billion in 2032.

The government’s proposal, which has gained the majority support of the main opposition parties in the Eduskunta, the parliament here, would reposition Finland’s annual spending on defense closer to 3.3% of GDP, placing it well above NATO’s 2% guideline.

Finland’s spending on defense in 2024 is expected to reach around 2.4% of the nation’s GDP.

The cooling in political relations between Helsinki and Moscow against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine continues to bolster political and public support to increase Finland’s spending on national security, said Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen.

“The security situation, in Finland and regionally, is difficult to predict. It could deteriorate quickly. Greater investment is needed in defense and national security to enhance our ability to counter broad-spectrum influencing, resist military pressure and fight potential large-scale wars that could drag on for years. As a result, we will reform national defense while also bringing the major ongoing projects in our Air Force and Navy to the finish line,” Häkkänen said.

The Finnish government presented an updated Defense Report to the Eduskunta on Dec. 19, its first since the country joined NATO in April 2023. The report underscores the elevated risks and security threats posed by Russia.

The report warns of the danger that Russia could decide to extend its war with Ukraine to neighboring NATO-aligned Baltic countries and member states of the European Union.

“Russia has moved towards a more open, unpredictable and protracted confrontation with the West that will continue to pose a long-term security threat to Europe and Finland” the defense report states.

The increase in Finland’s spending on defense represents a natural consequence of its membership of NATO, but it is also a reflection of the heightened level of threat caused by “Russian military expansionism,” said Pauli Aalto-Setälä, a member of parliament for the National Coalition Party.

“Russia is a war-addicted terrorist state that is currently waging a full-scale war on its neighbor. This is the reality we face and Finland, as part of NATO and with our European partners, must act accordingly,” said Aalto-Setälä.

Finland’s defense budget has risen markedly since 2020 when it stood at $3.5 billion. A number of big ticket procurements, including the $8.8 billion deal to purchase 64 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters, saw the defense budget increase to $6.1 billion in 2023.

Gerard O'Dwyer is the Scandinavian affairs correspondent for Defense News.

赫尔辛基——芬兰保守派政府公布了一项全面计划，将国防开支从 2025 年的 68 亿美元提高到 2032 年的 115 亿美元。

政府的提案已获得芬兰议会（Eduskunta）主要反对党的多数支持，该提案将把芬兰的年度国防开支调整到接近国内生产总值的 3.3%，远高于北约 2% 的指导方针。

预计芬兰2024年的国防开支将达到该国GDP的2.4%左右。

芬兰国防部长安蒂·哈卡宁表示，在乌克兰战争的背景下，赫尔辛基和莫斯科之间的政治关系降温，这进一步增强了芬兰增加国家安全支出的政治和公众支持。

“芬兰及周边地区的安全形势难以预测，可能迅速恶化。我们需要加大对国防和国家安全的投入，以增​​强我们应对广泛影响、抵御军事压力以及打赢可能持续数年的大规模战争的能力。因此，我们将改革国防体系，同时也将完成空军和海军正在进行的重大项目，”哈卡宁说道。

芬兰政府于12月19日向芬兰议会提交了最新版国防报告，这是芬兰自2023年4月加入北约以来的首份国防报告。该报告强调了俄罗斯构成的风险和安全威胁的加剧。

该报告警告说，俄罗斯有可能决定将与乌克兰的战争扩大到邻近的北约盟国波罗的海国家和欧盟成员国。

国防报告指出：“俄罗斯已经走向与西方更加公开、不可预测和旷日持久的对抗，这将继续对欧洲和芬兰构成长期安全威胁。”

芬兰国防开支的增加是其加入北约的自然结果，但也反映了“俄罗斯军事扩张主义”造成的威胁程度的加剧，国家联合党议员保利·阿尔托-塞塔拉表示。

“俄罗斯是一个嗜战成性的恐怖主义国家，目前正在对邻国发动全面战争。这就是我们面临的现实，芬兰作为北约成员国，必须与我们的欧洲伙伴一道采取相应的行动，”阿尔托-塞塔拉说道。

自2020年以来，芬兰的国防预算显著增长，当时为35亿美元。包括以88亿美元购买64架洛克希德·马丁F-35A战斗机在内的一系列大宗采购项目，使得芬兰的国防预算在2023年增至61亿美元。

杰拉德·奥德怀尔是《防务新闻》的斯堪的纳维亚事务记者。