Govt proposes law amendment to ease NATO troops arrival

The Finnish government on Thursday submitted a proposal to the Parliament for amendments to the Territorial Surveillance Act concerning the regulation of entry permits, said the Ministry of Defence in a press release.

"With these amendments we will enable more flexible cooperation with our NATO Allies when their troops arrive in Finland to join the Finnish Defence Forces' exercises or to provide international assistance," Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen said.

"The defence administration is reforming the Finnish legislation for the NATO era. This proposal is part of that package," he added.

According to the government proposal, the Finnish Defence Command could, upon application, grant a year-long permit to enter the territory of Finland to soldiers, military vehicles, state aircraft and state vessels of member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, states belonging to the European Economic Area or states applying the Schengen acquis. It would be possible to renew the permit without application, if necessary.

When necessary, it would also be possible to grant a one-off permit to enter the Finnish territory even without an application. Such a need could arise from an unforeseen urgent situation, for example.

The aim is to amend the Territorial Surveillance Act to add flexibility to the international activities that will increase due to Finland's membership in NATO.

Another objective is to clarify the regulation of entry permits in the context of cooperation and the reception of international assistance.

Even in future, the entry into and presence in the territory of Finland of soldiers, military vehicles, state aircraft or state vessels of foreign states would always require consent from Finland.

Entry into Finland would be based on a permit referred to in the Territorial Surveillance Act, on an international agreement binding on Finland or on a decision on international assistance or cooperation.

The Finnish territorial surveillance authorities would always be aware of any entry into Finland by soldiers, military vehicles, state aircraft or state vessels of foreign states. Consequently, the proposed amendments would not affect Finland's external sovereignty.