MFA: Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management started its work

The Committee will examine how the international security environment and crisis management have changed and what requirements this will impose on Finland's participation in crisis management. “The focus of the work is on developing military and civilian crisis management. However, crisis management will be examined as part of a broader network of actors, including actors in peace mediation, development cooperation and humanitarian aid,“ says State Secretary for Political Affairs Johanna Sumuvuori who chairs the Committee.

Jouni Ovaska, MP and deputy chair of the Committee, underlines that it is important to recognise the changes that have occurred in the operating environment of crisis management. Terrorism, environmental threats and climate change increase the need for crisis management. International crises and security threats are increasingly having direct effects on internal security in Finland and Europe. While the coronavirus situation has affected also crisis management operations the long-term impacts of the pandemic on international crisis management are only being assessed. 

As crises change, the field of actors has expanded; operations carried out by the EU and NATO as well as by coalitions of groups of countries have risen alongside the UN missions. In civilian crisis management, the OSCE is a key actor, too. The protection of civilians and the promotion of human rights and social stability and security are at the heart of international crisis management. 

International crisis management is an essential part of Finland’s foreign and security policy. Finland has participated in crisis management since the 1950s. At its highest, the number of Finnish peacekeepers was nearly 2,000. In total, more than 50,000 Finns have participated in peacekeeping missions. The nature of crisis management tasks has changed over the decades as the focus has shifted from settling conflicts between states to supporting efforts to resolve internal conflicts and capacity building in conflict countries. 

Currently, Finland has approximately 400 soldiers participating in 10 military crisis management operations. Approximately 120 Finns perform civilian crisis management tasks in about 20 operations and secretariats. The annual appropriations for military crisis management are about EUR 110 million while the annual appropriations for civilian crisis management are about EUR 15 million.

Inquiries: Sari Rautio, Director of General Unit, tel. +358 295 351 534.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi