Stockholm and Helsinki have agreed for Sweden to establish NATO land forces in Finland.
The move will create a NATO headquarters in northern Lapland and aims to improve security in the Alliance’s eastern flank amid threats from Russia, defense ministers from the two countries said in a September 2024 news conference in Stockholm.
The process remains in its early phase, the ministers said, adding that NATO will ultimately appoint a nation to lead the effort to establish forward land forces (FLF). NATO has boosted its presence in the eastern part of the Alliance by building multinational battlegroups from the Baltics to the Black Sea and has said it will develop a presence in Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia.
“The Swedish government has the ambition to take on a role as framework nation for forward land forces in Finland,” Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said at a news conference after a meeting between the two countries, adding that his government is honored by the task. He said FLF Finland could be in place within two years.
“It could mean that we take responsibility for planning the defense of Finland. Above all, we need to second staff officers and increase exercises together with Finland,” Jonson told Swedish broadcaster TV4 Nyheter.
Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked a historic political shift in previously militarily nonaligned countries. Finland joined NATO in 2023. Sweden joined in 2024. The neighboring countries began discussing Sweden’s role in establishing NATO land forces in Finland earlier in 2024, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said.
“We are also in discussions with other potential participant countries. An enhanced forward presence in Finland combined with our robust national capabilities make for a strong overall deterrence and defense,” Häkkänen said. Officials will soon decide on the composition and extent of NATO’s presence in Finland.
Finland’s defense minister said the country did not want the same kind of permanent multinational force as in, for example, the Baltic countries, given the considerable size of its own forces. The two countries are seeking to improve their cross-border mobility for military purposes, removing technical, administrative and legal obstacles, Jonson told Reuters. “It can also cover infrastructure in all its various components, not least roads and railways,” he said.
The September 2024 announcement was part of a sweeping joint declaration between the Finnish and Swedish governments covering a range of issues. The two nations, along with Denmark, Iceland and Norway, signed the Vision 2030 agreement in April 2024 to bolster regional security and signed a Declaration of Cooperation on Cross-Border Airspace in July 2024 to increase access to those nations’ airspace for training, exercises and other defense activities.
“It’s wonderful to see how close we are and how much we can cooperate both international and bilaterally,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said. “The declaration we’re adopting today outlines the direction for enhanced cooperation in key areas such as security — including support to Ukraine — infrastructure, energy and Nordic integration.”
One day after Sweden announced its plan to lead NATO forces in Finland, the Swedish government said it will boost defense spending by $1.3 billion in 2025, bringing its military spending to 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 2.2% in 2024. Sweden plans to bump defense spending to 2.6% of GDP in 2028.
“The security situation demands a stronger defense. Russia’s war against Ukraine is a defining factor for security in Sweden’s neighborhood,” the Swedish government said in a news release. “As the budget bill makes clear, the government proposes significant resource increases to strengthen Sweden’s defense capabilities and enable extensive growth of the country’s total defense.”