Supplementary budget allocates funding for drone defence, removals from the country and citizenship test
The Government's second supplementary budget for the year proposes funding for the Finnish Border Guard and the police to strengthen counter-drone capabilities and to make removals from the country more effective. Funding will also be provided for a new citizenship test. The Government submitted its second supplementary budget proposal for 2026 to Parliament on Wednesday 3 June.
Counter-drone capabilities to be strengthened
In its spring spending limits discussion, the Government agreed on strengthening the counter-drone capabilities. In the supplementary budget, EUR 50.2 million has been earmarked for development; of this total EUR 44 million will be allocated to the Finnish Border Guard and EUR 6.2 million to the police. This will strengthen drone detection, identification and countering capabilities.
The development, procurement and use of counter-drone capabilities will be coordinated through multi-authority cooperation between the Defence Forces, the Border Guard and the police.
Additional investments in removals from the country
The Government will continue the reforms to tighten immigration policy. The Government proposes EUR 2 million for the Finnish Immigration Service to cover the resources required by the amendment to the Aliens Act related to removal from the country.
In addition, EUR 4.2 million is proposed for the Finnish Immigration Service for introducing a citizenship test. The aim is that the permanent costs related to the citizenship test will in future be covered by test fees. The citizenship test will be introduced in early 2027.
Removals from the country by the police have become significantly more effective during the government term, and the number of removals from the country is still growing. An increase of EUR 1.5 million is proposed to cover the increased expenditure. This will ensure efficient operation also in the future.
Inquiries:
Antti Karila, Director of Finance and Planning, tel. +358 29 548 8288, [email protected]