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Updated: 22-Jun-2005 NATO Speeches

NATO HQ,
Brussels

10 June 2005

Statement

by Defence Minister Seppo Kääriäinen, Finland
at the Meeting of the EAPC in Defense Ministers Session

NATO’s Transformation and Partnership

Finland follows closely NATO's transformation. From the early days on, we have expressed interest to be involved in this process. Our Defence Forces’ new emphasis on effects and outcomes, and the exploitation of opportunities presented by new the technologies and Network Enabled Capabilities are in line with NATO's military transformation. 

The NATO Response Force (NRF) is an essential element of the NATO’s own transformation agenda, but its potential can also be used to support the on-going transformation of Partners’ defence posture. If, in the future, the NATO Force Structure will resemble more and more the NRF, it is necessary that Partners are kept abreast with the developments. I am saying this with the awareness that the NRF is a "NATO-first" endeavour, where Partners are not in the foreground.

The Partner involvement in transformation, including the NRF, is doable with the instruments we already have in form of the Planning And Review Process (PARP) and the Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC). These provide efficient tools for advancing interoperability with the Alliance and development of Partner capabilities based on standards and criteria used by NATO. To have an evaluated and certified Partner pool of forces that meet NATO standards would also give NATO's operational planners a better overview of assets available for operations.

Finland fully supports and looks forward to the development of Partners’ capabilities through the implementation of the OCC. We are ready to participate in OCC Evaluation and Feedback programme, when it becomes possible.

Finland, as most other nations, offers the same forces for NATO-, EU- and UN-led operations. I warmly welcome the principle stated in the PARP Ministerial Guidance that the Partnership Goals should take into account the transformation process and continue to seek forces and capabilities that are interoperable and capable of operating in demanding circumstances.

Finland is in the process of establishing two separate EU Battle Groups: one with Germany and the Netherlands, and the other with Sweden, Estonia and Norway. It is critically important that, wherever possible, standards and criteria for the EU Battle Groups should be the same as those required for similar formations assigned to NATO’s NRF. Accordingly, Finland’s intention is to develop its Battle Group contribution also by using the PARP and OCC processes. We have recently accepted a new out-of-cycle Partnership Goal, which aims at exactly developing our rapid reaction capabilities according to the NATO standards and criteria.

Therefore, close and mutually reinforcing EU-NATO co-operation is very important for Finland, especially the enhancement of European military capabilities. In this effort NATO's transformation and its impact on the evolution of Partner Countries' capabilities is at the very centre of development.

 

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