War in Georgia brought about only minor changes to government report on security and defence policy

Parliamentary hearing on report perhaps before end of November

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Analyses on the effects of the war in Georgia ultimately caused rather insignificant changes to the Finnish government’s report on security and defence police now being finalised, sources close to the report’s preparation process reveal.
      However, the information is inconsistent in respect of the degree to which traditional military threats were taken into account in the initial draft of the report, prior to the Georgian war.
      The report is being completed much more slowly than originally planned. It is likely to be introduced to Parliament only after the municipal elections.
     
Without further delays, the report may be ready for parliamentary processing before the end of November, estimates State Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Esko Hamilo.
      Hamilo is in charge of the working group preparing the report. In Parliament itself, discussion around the report and its parliamentary committee handling may take place promptly, but may also be prolonged.
      For the public servants’ part, the report’s first two sections looking into Finland’s security policy environment and its effects have already been completed.
      According to Hamilo, the segments of the report dealing with these issues are to be discussed unofficially between the President and the government in the government’s foreign and security policy committee (UTVA) on October 10th.
     
The sections of the report dealing with Finland’s policy guidelines and development of defence should be ready for UTVA discussions a month later.
      These sections are the report's core. Even the mere outlining of the direction of the development of defence is still incomplete.
      Lately attitudes towards Finland’s possible NATO membership and - in recent weeks - the effects of the war in Georgia have received the most attention.
      But politicians have also taken interest in the budgeting of defence expenditure.
      The traditional conscription army with its garrisons and large reserves have been juxtaposed against increasingly expensive weapon systems.
      The traditional defence alternative has been the favourite of the two, regardless of the events in Georgia.
     
The controversy over NATO is heightened in how much the relatively positive assessments with regard to NATO contained in the separate Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ review will show up in the conclusion segment of the report.
      The previous policy towards keeping NATO membership as an option for Finland is unlikely to change, but how this is worded is under careful consideration, as enlargening of NATO was one of the sources of friction linked to the war in Georgia.
     
Georgia is likely at least to receive a mention in the third section of the report, dealing with Finland’s security policy issues, unless politicians decide to remove it from there.
      According to some sources close to the preparation of the draft, the text dealing with the effects of the security policy environment barely needs to be touched.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Parliament fails to snare Foreign Minister Stubb over NATO comments (11.9.2008)
  COMMENTARY Three plates, three different opinions (2.9.2008)
  Vanhanen: South Ossetia crisis will affect next national defence report (19.8.2008)

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