Military spending cuts: Defence Forces to save nearly EUR 20 million by relinquishing real estate holdings

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One of the biggest surprises linked with the proposal for cuts in the Defence Forces is the fact that no details of the planned cut were leaked in advance.
      Although there were negative reactions to proposals to close down six installations, the proposal can be seen as fairly cautious.
      The cutbacks, which were announced on Wednesday, are leading to the elimination of 2,200 jobs in the coming three years.
     
The Finns Party said on Thursday that it would nevertheless put forward a parliamentary interpellation over the planned cutbacks.
      Chairman Timo Soini said that the party cannot accept the idea that “the government that got rid of land mines is scrapping defence”.
      The other opposition party, the Centre Party, would also have liked to join in the effort, but The Finns Party would not agree to it. Soini pointed out that the Centre voted in favour of eliminating land mines.
     
The proposed cuts in the military were also debated intensely during Thursday’s Parliamentary question time.
      Pentti Oinonen (The Finns Party) accused Minister of Defence Stefan Wallin (Swed. People’s Party) of favouring the Uusimaa Brigade for reasons of language policy. The Uusimaa Brigade functions in Swedish – Finland’s second official language.
      Wallin lashed out at Oinonen for linking the issue with language policy.
     
The Swedish-language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet wrote on Friday that two professors that it interviewed feel that Wallin might actually have a conflict of interest in the matter.
      Wallin is a member of the Uusimaa Brigade Guild, which was set up to support the Uusimaa Brigade and the conscripts serving there.
      Walliin said on Thursday that he had discussed the matter with the Chancellor of Justice, who did not see any problem.
     
The Ministry of Defence calculates that it will save about EUR 17 million a year when it gives up the land and buildings in the units that are to be closed down.
      The six units that are to be shut down contain more than 300 buildings, whose combined floor space is about 240,000 square metres. This is 7.5 per cent of the present 3.2 million square metres of indoor space in all of the buildings operated by the Defence Forces.
      Another EUR 150,000 in annual savings would come from relinquishing land holdings. Metsähallitus, the entity which administers state-owned land holdings, estimates that the Defence Forces would be giving up between 3,000 and 4,000 hectares of land.
     
At this stage, the closure of the military units amounts to moving money from one state pocket to another.
      The buildings used by the Defence Forces are owned by the state-owned Senate Properties, and the land areas are administered by Metsähallitus.
      It is only when the properties are sold on the free market that the state will actually gain revenue from the closures. Ilpo Savolainen, a real estate expert employed by Senate Properties, says that demand exists for buildings now held by the Defence Forces especially in Lahti and Kotka.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Military cuts have greatest impact on civilian employees (9.2.2012)
  Significant cutbacks planned for Defence Forces (8.2.2012)
  Finnish Defence Forces have discussed temporary layoff of entire permanent staff (1.9.2011)

Links:
  Government Communications Unit: Reform of the Finnish Defence Forces to start
  Finnish Defence Forces
  Senate Properties

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