Working group proposes to strengthen voluntary national defence
The working group reviewing the target state of voluntary national defence submitted its report to Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen on 21 March 2025. The working group identified three possible alternatives for organising voluntary national defence. Based on the review, the working group proposes to strengthen voluntary national defence by preserving the best parts of the current system, while improving its operational and strategic effectiveness.
"Voluntary national defence plays a key role in strengthening the crisis resilience of Finnish society and our will to defend the country. It is important that we take steps to develop voluntary national defence so that it can better meet the challenges of the current security environment," says Minister of Defence Häkkänen.
The working group proposes that the strategic and operational partnership between the Finnish Defence Forces and the National Defence Training Association (MPK) be clarified and intensified. The MPK would have the right and obligation to provide military training to selected troops from the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Border Guard and the NATO Allies and to use new weapon systems. The MPK and its key personnel would be assigned tasks during emergencies, which would enable the MPK to participate in the operational planning of the Finnish Defence Forces required by these tasks. Clearer links would be created between the tasks of the MPK and total defence. The reform would require significant legislative amendments.
In the model proposed by the working group, national defence organisations would retain their current status and autonomy based on the Associations Act. However, legislative amendments would make it possible to utilise organisations and volunteers more extensively in the voluntary national defence training system. In the target state, resource allocation for voluntary national defence would be more predictable. The current focus on training of individuals would shift to training of troops.
Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen appointed a working group on 21 December 2023 to prepare a proposal for the target state of voluntary national defence in 2030. The working group had representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Border Guard and the most central organisations associated with voluntary national defence. The Ministry of Defence will now assess the working group's proposal, the possible legislative amendments it requires and its economic impacts.
Inquiries:
Brigadier General Markku Viitasaari, chair of the working group, Director of the National Defence Unit, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 330
Requests for interviews with Minister Häkkänen: Dani Niskanen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 41 544 4967