Prime Ministers of Finland and Spain: European countries need to increase their defence spending

Boosting assistance to Ukraine and strengthening European defence were key topics on the agenda when Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met for discussions in Helsinki on Wednesday 12 March. While in Helsinki, Prime Minister Sánchez also met with President of the Republic Alexander Stubb.

“After last week’s Special European Council, it is even clearer that the EU will support Ukraine in every way it can. Russia is a permanent threat to Europe as a whole. That is why, in addition to supporting Ukraine, we must strengthen European security,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo at the press conference following the prime ministers’ meeting. 

“We need a clear vision for how to build a European pillar of NATO within the next 5–10 years,” said Prime Minister Orpo. We must begin this work immediately,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

Based on the outcome of last week’s Special European Council, the prime ministers discussed how to finance initiatives to strengthen European defence. 

The Prime Ministers also noted that Finland and Spain have a good political relationship that has grown closer in recent years. The two countries have also seen an increase in trade. Last year, Finland’s exports to Spain grew by 7 per cent from the year before, while imports from Spain to Finland grew by 12 per cent. The countries are now looking at new opportunities for economic cooperation in the fields of digitalisation, the defence industry, the circular economy and decarbonisation.

Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978, Juuso Kilpinen, Special Adviser for EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 444, and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office