Further development of 112 Suomi app to draw on lessons from Ukraine

The Ministry of the Interior has launched a project to develop a new feature for the Emergency Response Centre Agency’s 112 Suomi app to warn of airborne threats. The project will be carried out with EU funding, and other EU Member States can also benefit from the results of Finland’s development work.

Warning the population of airborne threats is the responsibility of the rescue authorities. The operating model for warning of such threats has been developed in recent years under the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior, working in cooperation with the Finnish Air Force.

The Emergency Response Centre Agency introduced the emergency warning feature for the 112 Suomi app six years ago. The application has around 2 million active users, and it is already used for different kinds of emergency warnings as well as other official communications.

Finland is drawing on lessons learned from Ukraine in its development work, while also offering its strong civil defence expertise to Ukraine. This work has shown that Finland needs a more multi-channel warning system. In Ukraine, various mobile apps have been utilised, for example, to warn the population.

Finland has a long tradition of preparedness, and its development and maintenance are part of normal security work. Finland is not currently facing a military threat.

The development project has received EU funding from the ‘Technical Assistance for Disaster Risk Management’ funding instrument.

The project is part of the comprehensive reform of emergency warnings, which is set out in the Government Programme. The project will continue until 31 December 2027.

The Ministry of the Interior coordinates the development project. A steering group and a working group will be established for the project. In addition to the Ministry of the Interior, the working group is intended to include representatives of the Emergency Response Centre Agency, the Finnish Air Force, the Defence Command Finland and the rescue services of the wellbeing services counties.

Inquiries:
Mikko Hiltunen, Chair of the steering group, Senior Officer for Rescue Services, tel. +358 295 488 341, [email protected] 
Tuomas Pylkkänen, Senior Officer for Rescue Services, tel. +358 295 488 554, [email protected]
Marko Nieminen, Director of Preparedness, Emergency Response Centre Agency, tel. +358 295 481 291, [email protected] 
(112 Suomi app)