Additional funding to procurements replacing materiel delivered to Ukraine and to NATO presence
In the third supplementary budget for 2024, the Government proposes to cut the appropriations for the Ministry of Defence’s branch of government by a total of EUR 378.332 million.
In the third supplementary budget for 2024, the Government proposes to cut the appropriations for the Ministry of Defence’s branch of government by a total of EUR 378.332 million.
The fall in the level of appropriations for the branch of government is due to technical adjustments to previously allocated appropriations. The biggest reduction is caused by a change to the timeline of expenditure for the procurement authority for the multi-role fighter procurement. This change will lower the level of appropriations for 2024 by EUR 436 million. In addition, changes to the timelines of the procurements to replace materiel delivered to Ukraine will reduce the expenditure proportion for 2024 by EUR 19 million.
The largest increase proposed to the appropriations is a sum of around EUR 277 million allocated for procurements to replace materiel delivered to Ukraine, taking place between 2028 and 2032. As a result, the procurement authority for the 2023 procurements to replace materiel delivered to Ukraine will be raised to around EUR 2.3 billion. In addition, an increase of EUR 4.7 million is proposed for the Defence Forces’ operating expenses to cover the costs of materiel and training assistance to Ukraine.
In 2024, an additional appropriation of EUR 15 million is proposed for the integration of the Defence Forces’ command, intelligence and situational awareness with NATO in accordance with NATO’s defence planning. In 2024, Finland contributed to NATO’s collective peacetime missions by deploying a Navy vessel to the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One and an Air Force detachment to an Air Shielding mission in Romania. To cover the costs of Finland’s participation in these missions, the Government proposes an increase of approximately EUR 7.6 million to the Defence Forces’ operating expenses.
In addition, an increase of EUR 0.15 million has been taken into account in the appropriations of the defence administration to cover the costs of establishing the military component of the Finnish Space Situational Awareness Centre (FSSAC). The FSSAC is a joint project of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Transport and Communications. It is a virtual civilian-military function that enables the efficient use of the civilian and military component resources to generate national space situational awareness. The Defence Forces is responsible for generating space situational awareness for military needs and the Air Force for building the capability. The appropriation will cover the costs of coordinating the functions of the Air Force and the Finnish Meteorological Institute into a national space situational awareness capability.
“The most notable expenditure increases in the supplementary budget proposal concern Finland’s support to Ukraine, integration with NATO and contribution to NATO’s tasks and missions. Finland will keep its own house in order and shoulder its share for the security of Europe. While the Finnish Space Situational Awareness Centre is a small gesture in money terms, it is a significant step towards a more effective ability to navigate our challenging security environment,” Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen says.
Inquiries: Kristiina Olsson, Director of Finance, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 220, and Antti Korpi, Staff Officer (FSSAC), tel. +358 295 140 231.