National Expectations Regarding the European Defence Fund: The Finnish Perspective

The distinguishing features of Finland’s defence policy orientation, procurement practices, military partnerships and defence industry inform the country’s approach towards the European Defence Fund (EDF). Finland strongly supports a more pronounced role for the European Union (EU) in security and defence matters, generally having a very favourable stance on the new EU defence initiatives, including the EDF. Finland’s administration and industry value the EDF’s potential to further cross-border networks, fill capability gaps, increase competitiveness and support technological innovation. At the same time, Finland’s focus on territorial defence, its tradition of buying off-the-shelf capabilities, its deepening military cooperation with Sweden, the US and other partners, and a national industry largely based on highly-specialized SMEs generate specific expectations and concerns regarding the EDF. For the moment, some doubts and questions remain about how the EDF will be implemented in practise and whether Finland is able to take advantage of the ensuing opportunities. However, overall Finland has a pragmatic and constructive view on the EDF…