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Left to right: Juhan Parts (Prime Minister of Estonia) with President Tarja Halonen of Finland.
NATO’s relations with Finland are conducted through the Partnership for Peace framework, which Finland joined in 1994. NATO and Finland actively cooperate on peace and security operations and have developed practical cooperation in many other areas. An Individual Partnership Programme (IPP) lays out the programme of cooperation between Finland and NATO.
Finnish cooperation with NATO is based on its longstanding policy of military non-alignment and a firm national political consensus. From this basis, Finland selects areas of cooperation with NATO that match joint objectives. The country monitors developments within NATO, and there is an ongoing domestic discussion on the merits of a possible future application for membership of the Alliance.
NATO highly values its relations with Finland. The Allies view Finland as an effective and pro-active partner and contributor to international security, which shares key values such as the promotion of international security, democracy and human rights.
Finland’s main objective in participating in the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme is to develop and enhance interoperability between NATO and Partner forces. NATO and Finland detail cooperative actions and timelines in the Finnish Individual Partnership Programme (IPP), which is jointly agreed for a two-year period. Key areas include security and peacekeeping cooperation, crisis management and civil emergency planning.
Finland has worked alongside the Allies in security and peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
More…Finland has a longstanding policy of military non-alignment that remains in effect today. In line with this, Finland has not pursued NATO membership, but it joined the new Partnership for Peace (PfP) in 1994 to work alongside Allies in areas where bilateral aims converge. In 1997, the country joined the new Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). Finland has demonstrated a strong political commitment to the EAPC, and has been generous in its financial contributions to Partnership for Peace Trust Fund projects, as well as offering practical assistance to other Partners through the provision of training.
Finland joined the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP) in 1995 to foster interoperability with NATO forces in peacekeeping operations. Since joining PfP, Finland has played an active role in PfP activities and offers expertise to other Partners and Allies, with a special focus on peacekeeping, civil-emergency planning and civil-military cooperation.
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