Press releases and news

Minister of Defence Häkkänen is attending meetings of the NATO defence ministers, NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO Headquarters on 18 June.

A working group led by the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Defence examined the coordination of habitat restoration and national defence and identified means to promote their shared objectives. The working group concluded that there are major synergies between restoration and national defence. In particular, the restoration of mires has significance for national defence in eastern and northern Finland.

The Ministry of Defence has published a report on Finland’s exports of defence materiel in 2025. The report provides statistical data on both the granted export licences and actual exports.

Finland and Ukraine have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning quality assurance in the defence materiel sector.

Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Marles visited Helsinki on 9 June to meet with Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

Brazil's Minister of Defence José Mucio Monteiro Filho will meet with Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen in Helsinki on 8 June.

NATO’s Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland) will be officially founded on Saturday 6 June 2026.

In line with the Government Programme, the Finnish Government will reform the Act on the Screening of Foreign Corporate Acquisitions so that risks relating to national security, security of supply and broad-spectrum threats are taken into account more effectively than at present. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has sent out for comments a government proposal to reform the legislation on foreign corporate acquisitions to meet the demands of today’s geopolitical environment and technological advances.

On 4 June 2026, the Finnish Government, based on Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen’s presentation, submitted to Parliament a government proposal for reforming the legislation on military intelligence.

​​​​​​​On 4 June 2026, Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen denied 14 prospective buyers from outside the EU and EEA a permit to buy real estate in Finland.

Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen received on Tuesday 2 June 2026 the final report of a parliamentary working group examining the need to develop and resource Finland’s homeland defence in the 2030s.

A parliamentary working group on defence, appointed by the Finnish Government, examined the need to develop and resource Finland’s homeland defence in the 2030s.

Finland will host a series of testing events led by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) as part of the national implementation of NATO Innovation Range. The events will be held in Riihimäki, Joensuu, Oulu and Turku.

Finland will deliver its 33rd materiel assistance package to Ukraine. The President of the Republic decided on the matter on 29 May 2026 on the proposal of the Government.

The Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy of the Finnish Government has outlined that the expenditure Finland will be reporting under NATO’s 1.5 per cent target for defence- and security-related spending will include statutory readiness and preparedness duties or capabilities critical to homeland defence that are sustained and developed by other branches of government than the Ministry of Defence. These costs are estimated to reach 2.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026, clearly exceeding the NATO target.

Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will attend a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in its defence configuration in Brussels on 12 May 2026.

Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen has authorised the Defence Forces to order thermal clip-on optics and related equipment and spare parts through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).

Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will attend a defence ministers’ meeting of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) in Trondheim, Norway, on 5–6 May 2024.

The ministers will meet at the National Defence University as part of the working visit of Estonia’s Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur to Finland.

Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will make a working visit to Stockholm on Tuesday 28 April 2026. He will be hosted by Pål Jonson, Sweden’s Minister for Defence.