The matter in summary: Finnish authorities confirm that they have invited Norway, Sweden and other NATO allies to establish a joint NATO force in Finnish Lapland. This confirms the rumors that arose in early August that Sweden was considering a force contribution to Finland. The Minister of Defense in Finland, Antti Häkkänen, has confirmed that a Finnish request for force contributions has been sent from Finland to the relevant NATO countries. The Ministry of Defense has not commented on whether they will contribute their own troops in northern Finland, or whether they have received such a request. Professor at the Staff School, Håkon Lunde Saxi, believes that a force contribution to Finland will be stressful for the Norwegian armed forces. Norway today already has around 150 soldiers in the Lithuanian camp Rukla, under German leadership. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The Finnish authorities now express publicly that they wish to invite Norway, Sweden and other NATO allies to establish a joint NATO force in Finnish Lapland. – It is very important for us that the other NATO countries are engaged and involved in the defense of Lapland and this entire Scandinavian region, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told the Finnish public broadcaster YLE last week. YLE’s article was reproduced by The Barents Observer earlier this week. Thus, the Finns of the Finnish state channel confirm the rumors that arose in early August. Petteri Orpo became Prime Minister of Finland in 2023 and leads the liberal conservative Samlingsparty. Photo: Reuters Peter Hultquist, head of the Swedish Riksdag’s defense committee, learned that Sweden was in the process of assessing a Swedish force contribution to Finland. – I know that the Swedish armed forces and the government are preparing to deploy troops to Finland. It would happen as part of NATO cooperation, Hultqvist told the Finnish newspaper Iltalehte in early August. These are the major military land forces on the Northern Cape: Norway has a mechanized brigade (approx. 4,000 soldiers) in Indre Troms and a battalion force at the border (approx. 350 soldiers). In addition, a new brigade in Porsanger is under construction (approx. 2,000 soldiers). Sweden currently has around 2,000 soldiers, divided between regiments in Boden and Arvidsjaur. Jääkäriprikaati (Hunter Brigade), is the only standing brigade in Lapland, stationed in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi. It has just under 2,000 soldiers and officers in peacetime. In peacetime, three fully deployed Russian army brigades will number between 10 and 13,000 soldiers. In addition, the Northern Fleet has its own coastal forces at its disposal. According to the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies, 80 percent of the Russian land forces on the Kola Peninsula have been deployed in the war in Ukraine. Finland has proposed that a joint NATO force be established in northern Finland, probably modeled after the multinational battalion battle groups established in the Baltic countries. Norway also invited Hultqvist adds that the collaboration would also include Norwegian soldiers. – The way I see it, a force will be formed in Northern Finland, which will include soldiers from different countries. Sweden naturally participates in such an operation, says Hultqvist to the newspaper. According to Hultqvist, the establishment of a joint force was already discussed before Finland and Sweden joined NATO. Finland became a member of NATO on 4 April 2023, and Sweden became a member of NATO on 7 March 2024. Sweden’s former Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvis at a NATO conference in Brussels in 2022. He currently chairs the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Swedish Riksdag. Photo: Olivier Matthys / AP No comment The newspaper writes that Hultqvist supported the establishment of a joint force when he was Minister of Defense from 2014-2022. – It is natural that Sweden, Norway and Finland take joint responsibility for the Nordkalotten region. We already discussed it when I was Minister of Defence, Hultqvist reveals to the media. According to the newspaper, the establishment discussion was strictly secret. news is aware that any force contribution has not been considered by the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Storting. The Defense High Command (FOH) does not wish to comment on the matter, and has referred it to political leadership in the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defense has so far not wanted to comment on news’s question about the possible deployment of forces in Finland. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen at the Kivilompolo customs station during the Nordic Response this winter. Photo: Jonas Løken Estenstad Finland: To be decided in the autumn The Finnish Defense Minister, Antti Häkkänen, has also confirmed that a Finnish request for force contributions has been sent from Finland to the relevant NATO countries. – We do not comment on these negotiations publicly. They are held with several different countries. We are negotiating which countries can commit certain troop structures to Finland’s security, he tells YLE on 21 August. He does not wish to comment on individual countries’ assessments of the request. He says that it has not been decided whether Sweden and Norway will contribute their own troops in northern Finland. – Each of these countries can manage their own process in government and parliament in peace, Häkkänen emphasizes to YLE. Håkon Lunde Saxi is a professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy/Stabsskolen. He researches and teaches about Norwegian, Nordic and Northern European defense policy, military strategy and defense history. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news Strenuous for the Armed Forces Professor at the Staff College, Håkon Lunde Saxi, tells news that a force contribution to Finland will be strenuous for the Armed Forces. He emphasizes that he does not know how large the forces the Finns have asked Norway to provide. – The army will have major problems with both maintaining the current force contribution in Lithuania, and at the same time deploying permanent forces in northern Finland, he points out. Norway today already has around 150 soldiers in the Lithuanian camp Rukla, under German leadership. The responsibility for fielding forces is currently rotated between the 2nd Battalion at Skjold, the Armored Battalion and the Telemark Battalion. – It is already exhausting for the Army, which only has three combat battalions, to maintain this rotational force. The battalions are weakened by a company battle group every time they have to deploy forces. Norway currently has forces deployed in Lithuania, as part of NATO’s battlegroups in the Baltic countries. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news – Can provide added value for Norwegian defense He therefore believes that the Army will probably have to choose between a force contribution to Lithuania or Finland. At the same time, a permanent deployment in Finland could be more sustainable, Saxi believes: – Since Finland and Norway will probably be placed under the same NATO command and in the same regional defense plan, it can be said that priority should be given to Finland, he says. Saxi believes that a force contribution can just as well be solved with a permanent establishment in northern Finland. – If you permanently station a Norwegian army unit in Lapland, with commanders, conscripts and families over a long period of time, you will not have the same need for strength as with rotation, he says. NATO’s regional defense plans NATO has established a joint operational headquarters for northern Europe in Norfolk, USA (JFC-Norfolk). Norway is today under this headquarters. NATO has also drawn up a regional defense plan for Northern Europe. In the future, all the Nordic countries want to be subject to JFC-Norfolk and to be part of the same regional defense plan. It is likely that in the future sub-commands will be established in Northern Europe, subject to JFC-Norfolk. Assuming they are under the same headquarters, according to Saxi, it seems likely today that the land command will remain in Finland, while Norway will get the air command. The regional defense plans will determine which forces will be deployed in Finland and Norway, and other frontline states, in the event of a possible conflict with Russia. In any case, he believes that Norway will support Finland’s desire for a NATO force in northern Finland. – What is certain is that such a multinational allied combat force will provide added value for the defense of the Scandinavian peninsula, both in terms of security policy and militarily, Saxi believes. He thinks Norway will probably be able to make a smaller contribution for political reasons. – A larger Norwegian land military contribution requires that the Nordic defense chiefs recommend such a solution as beneficial for strengthening the Nordics’ overall deterrence and defense capabilities. Published 30.08.2024, at 15.09
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Finland asks Norway for military help for a joint NATO force in Northern Finland – news Troms and Finnmark
