Official press releases, news and speeches that the minister has held are located in this section. The Ministry of Defence publishes all of its press releases and news in Finnish and Swedish and many of them in English, too.
Press Releases
Minister of Defence Häkkänen to attend NATO Defence Ministers meeting and Munich Security Conference
Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen will attend a meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Thursday 15 February. NATO defence ministers will address NATO’s new defence plans and their resourcing, the ramping up of the defence industry’s production capacity, and support to Ukraine.
The day will start with a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers Session, where the ministers will discuss how to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence. Central themes of the session will include burden sharing, increasing the production capacity of the defence industry, NATO’s command structure, and the implementation of the regional defence plans agreed in the Vilnius Summit.
“Finland easily meets the NATO’s 2% defence investment guideline. We will also be contributing to burden sharing in NATO by taking an active part in NATO’s peacetime operations,” says Minister of Defence Häkkänen.
The day will continue with a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, where the defence ministers will discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and NATO members’ support to Ukraine. The Council was launched at the Vilnius Summit to advance political dialogue with Ukraine and to promote Ukraine’s aspirations for membership in NATO.
“Our support to Ukraine will continue. Support from Europe and North America is crucial for the war’s outcome,” Häkkänen says.
Munich Security Conference
From Brussels, Minister of Defence Häkkänen will travel to Munich to attend the international Munich Security Conference, held on 16–18 February.
The Minister will have several high-level bilateral meetings during the conference. He will also attend events hosted by Boris Pistorius, Germany’s Federal Minister of Defence, and by General Jim Mattis, former US Secretary of Defence.
The 60th Munich Security Conference brings together policymakers and experts in the field of security policy from around the world.
Inquiries: Outi Mäkinen, Senior Specialist, on the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 082, Otto Saxén, Director of the Defence Cooperation Unit, on the Munich Security Conference, tel. +358 295 140 314, and Emma Virkkunen, Senior Specialist, on communications related to the meetings, tel. +358 295 140 176. Requests for interviews with the Minister of Defence: Ville Sipiläinen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 40 761 1558.