A parliamentary working group in Finland has recommended doubling the country's defence spending in the 2030s, citing Russia as a long-term and difficult-to-predict security threat. The report submitted to Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen calls for funding to rise from 7.7 billion euros in 2024 to over 14 billion euros by 2029, maintaining that level until at least 2036. The working group highlights changes in warfare, technology, and transatlantic burden-sharing as influencing Finland's security environment. Defence Minister Häkkänen emphasized cross-party agreement and the need for long-term cooperation to strengthen national defence, acknowledging that spending will exceed NATO's 3.5% GDP target. The opposition Left Alliance agrees on the threat but questions the scale of spending and calls for broader debate on financing and security policy, emphasizing Europe's role and cautioning against over-reliance on the US, which it views as less predictable. The report was chaired by MP Jukka Kopra.

A parliamentary working group in Finland has recommended doubling the country's defence spending in the 2030s, citing Russia as a long-term and difficult-to-predict security threat. The report submitted to Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen calls for funding to rise from 7.7 billion euros in 2024 to over 14 billion euros by 2029, maintaining that level until at least 2036. The working group highlights changes in warfare, technology, and transatlantic burden-sharing as influencing Finland's security environment. Defence Minister Häkkänen emphasized cross-party agreement and the need for long-term cooperation to strengthen national defence, acknowledging that spending will exceed NATO's 3.5% GDP target. The opposition Left Alliance agrees on the threat but questions the scale of spending and calls for broader debate on financing and security policy, emphasizing Europe's role and cautioning against over-reliance on the US, which it views as less predictable. The report was chaired by MP Jukka Kopra.