Finland to increase military spending after years of major cutback

Finnish political parties have reached a consensus on increasing the country's military spending, with a parliamentary working group proposing annual increases in Defence Forces appropriations for arms purchases.

Six parties have agreed that in 2016 the army will get an extra 50 million euros (63.46 million U.S. dollars) for equipment purchases. The additional funding would increase gradually and reach 150 million euros in 2020, according to the plan.

Finland's current funding for equipment purchases is 500 million euros per year. The total defence budget for 2015 is slightly under 2,700 million euros. It is five percent of the state budget.

The working group however has not made it clear as to whether Finland should remain outside the NATO or apply to enter the military alliance.

Talking to Xinhua, Chairman of the working group Ilkka Kanerva said the important international message of the decision is that "Finland takes care of its defence, be it in an alliance or not."

The plan to increase military spending came only a few years after major cutbacks were enacted. The number of troops that would see active duty in time of war was recently cut from 350,000 to 230,000. No plan has been announced to restore it to earlier levels. At the end of the Cold War in 1990, Finland was still able to mobilize half a million military.

Among the country's political parties, only the Left Alliance did not endorse the military spending increase. The Green Party has supported the agreement, but favored a cutback in the war time strength.

Kanerva said that a steep decline had taken place some years ago and further weakening the present strength would be reckless and could risk the defence capability.

Kanerva told Xinhua that the Finnish political spectrum has not seen this level of unanimity on defence spending for decades.

Kanerva said the backing of six parties is enough to secure that the suggestions will be implemented after the April 2015 elections.

The Defence Forces are now planning to form a fast reaction force comprising a few thousand soldiers. In an interview with the leading Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday, Commander of the Defence Forces General Jarmo Lindberg said "some parts of the unit could be activated in a day."

Fairly unique in Europe, Finland maintains its military service based on universal conscription. The option of doing national service as a civilian is available, but in recent years some 80 percent of the male population reaching the call-up age of 18 has chosen the military service.

The length varies between six months and a year, depending on the training given and the rank reached. In the Finnish system a conscript cannot tell in advance what rank he or she will attain. Military service for women in Finland is voluntary.

The creation of a professionals-only defence force has never been a real option in Finland mainly due to the cost of employing the required manpower for the defence of the large area. Finland shares a 1,340 km land border with Russia.

During the Cold War, the Defence Forces had kept planning for blocking entry of the Soviets into Finland while also preparing for defending against attacks through Finland against the Soviet Union as envisaged in the Finnish-Soviet treaty of 1948.

The Paris Peace Treaty in 1947 enforced heavy restrictions on the peace time strength of the Finnish Defence Forces, but did not affect reserves. The limitations were cancelled after the collapse of the Soviet Union.