Finland wants permanent cross-border flight exercise areas with Sweden
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A committee set up by the Ministry of Defence says that it would be expedient to set up cross-border flight exercise areas with Sweden over the Gulf of Bothnia and the Bay of Bothnia - the parts of the Baltic Sea which separate the two countries.
The committee, headed by Brigadier General Arto Räty, examined Finland’s possibilities to open its land and sea areas and its air space to international exercises and corporate product development.
Räty noted that cooperation with Sweden goes back decades. There are also proposals to invite Norway to take part in the exercises.
Permanent procedures for booking air space should be established to allow exercises to be held at fairly short notice. Today, military exercises are planned years in advance.
Preparations for the exercises would take place at the ministry, said Minister of Defence Seppo Kääriäinen (Centre), who received the report. The final decision rests with the government.
The Finnish and Swedish ministers of defence are holding an unofficial meeting today, Wednesday, at Königstedt Manor in Vantaa. Kääriäinen said on Tuesday that the meeting is not directly linked with the report, and that the establishment of the exercise area is not the main topic of discussion.
"But this is not a bad topic for dinner conversation, even though the aim is to talk about the matters only on a general level."
International military exercises are seen in the report as being increasingly important for the Defence Forces. One indication of the increase is the registry being developed in the EU, in which member states can place information about their possibilities of taking part in exercises.
However, the committee does not feel that Finland should sell or lease the areas where it holds its military exercises to other countries. The committee notes that they are already in heavy use, and that international forces should be invited into Finland for military exercises only if Finland itself is involved.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 17.1.2007 - TODAY |
 Finland wants permanent cross-border flight exercise areas with Sweden
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