The objectives in international cooperation must be ambitious

Climate change, biodiversity loss and the energy shortage are addressed by investing in renewable energy and supporting infrastructure, resource production, and technological innovations. Climate change and biodiversity loss will not stop to wait for the return to peacetime: work to stop them must be continued and expedited. We must invest in international climate work. By leading the way and producing alternatives, Finland also spurs bigger countries into climate action. At the same time, we are a country that develops innovations to mitigate climate change.

With the rise of aggressive nationalism and unrest caused by climate change, the significance of work for peace has increased. We must be determined in continuing to support work for peace and the Centre for Peace Mediation, which was established to enhance it.

Ensuring equal participation of all stakeholders is key for the success of peace processes. Particular attention must be paid to strengthening the inclusion of women and young people. Every citizen suffers from the consequences of war and conflicts, and thus everyone must be included in seeking solutions. Broad support of the citizens is vital to ensure the sustainability of peace processes.

The spread of power politics, restrictions on democracy, the energy crisis and increasing food shortage, as well as the lack of fertilizer raw materials that aggravates it, threaten human rights across the globe. Finland must strengthen its work to support respect for human rights both in its own actions and within the frameworks of the EU, the UN, and human rights organisations. As part of this, the operational capacity of the Rule of Law Centre, established under the auspices of the University of Helsinki, must be resolutely reinforced in the coming term.

We will strengthen foreign and security policy

As a consequence of the changes in the security environment, the significance of cooperation is underlined also in Finland’s defence policy. With SDP leadership and strong support of the people, Finland applied for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and started strategic and tactical level preparations related to the accession process. In a world of escalating power politics, promoting Finland’s defence interests is most effective as part of a larger community, as a member of which Finland has an active role in supporting and developing defence cooperation and conflict prevention.

The development of Finland’s own national defence will continue to be based on defending the entire country and its population, general conscription, and closer international cooperation.

Training, security of supply preparedness, cyber defence, intelligence gathering, and development and procurement of defence technology have, for long, taken place in cooperation of like-minded countries, as this is the most efficient way. As a NATO member state, cooperation and trust will be deeper. However, the membership alone will not be enough, and Finland will need to continuously develop its skills and participation in maintaining common security on all levels of central government. Security should be understood as a cross-cutting factor that links together national defence, security of supply, cooperation and securing social stability.

As a full member of NATO, Finland will have the same rights and responsibilities as all other members of the alliance. Finland will not seek privileges and will shoulder its responsibilities, but Finland is also not surrendering its national authority with regard to resourcing its defence, the scope of national training, the establishment of permanent operations in Finland or nuclear weapons. NATO is a trust-based system of cooperation that does not have mechanisms to overstep national authority.

Finland’s foreign and security policy targets will be updated and Finland’s position as a part of defence cooperation will be defined on the basis of our national needs in the Government report on changes in the security environment of the next parliamentary term. The cooperation opens up many opportunities for Finland to influence, for example, security of supply, intelligence gathering, and the organisation of the joint defence.

The future is about cooperation, preparedness and influence

The current world situation highlights the need for preparedness. Finland has taken care of it by preparing for military, hybrid, cyber and civil crises alike both nationally and through deepening international cooperation. Finland must be able to simultaneously prepare for the worst and make every effort to ensure that it does not happen.

Finland must continue to have an active, stronger role in conflict prevention, prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and promoting disarmament.

Alongside the NATO process, Finland must invest in the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, the development of European security architecture, and restoring the significance of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe. SDP underlines how important it is that the European union can respond in a timely, effective and united manner to the challenge of authoritarian countries oppressing their own citizens and threatening neighbouring countries. The use of military force that we have now seen can continue in other policy sectors, too, if it is not stopped effectively enough. The role of the EU in this will be indispensable. The European union is, at its foundation, a peace organisation with its roots in cooperation.