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The European Union defense ministers convened in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the Union’s support for Ukraine. Defense preparedness and military crisis management were also on the agenda of the meeting. Finland was represented at the meeting by Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen, who stated that support for Ukraine is critical and that Hungary is blocking additional funding from the European Peace Fund.
Häkkänen emphasized that it is a huge security issue, and one country is playing with fire in such a situation. He said that he believes that if Hungary continues on this line, its actions will not go unpunished. In terms of defense preparedness, the ministers discussed financing of the defense industry and interoperability and interchangeability of defense equipment.
Finland expressed to the commission at the meeting their hope that defense would be the top priority in the strategic program of the next commission. According to Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland has recently experienced a surge in civil service reservists transferring from their reserve positions to active service due to recent events in Ukraine, which may require additional funding for civil service expenses.
Häkkänen commented on this news by saying that whenever there has been a security crisis in Finland, then there was a wave of separation [reservistlä], more resources were needed for the civil service center. He said that if 800,000 euros of such expenses have been incurred, that is the decision of each individual.
