On January 26, Parliament's Intelligence Control Committee issued its statement on the government proposal regarding Finland's accession to NATO. The statement (TiVL 1/2022) was submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which prepares a report on the proposal.
The Intelligence Oversight Committee states that when Finland joins NATO, Finnish military and civilian intelligence will become part of the alliance's intelligence community. In its intelligence assessments, NATO uses the intelligence information of the member states. The cooperation further improves the conditions for the Finnish intelligence authorities to carry out their tasks.
Finland's intelligence authorities will provide NATO's intelligence agencies and alliance member countries with necessary intelligence information. According to the Committee, it seems that, according to the current regulation, the Finnish Security Intelligence Agency can provide personal data to the security and intelligence services of other countries, but not to NATO bodies. According to the report received by the Committee, the Ministry of the Interior is reviewing the regulation as part of a more comprehensive assessment of the needs for changes in the legislation following the accession to NATO.
NATO cooperation has significant personnel effects
All in all, the cooperation resulting from Finland's NATO membership has significant personnel effects in the entire state administration. In the government proposal, it is stated that demanding expert tasks will increase when Finland participates comprehensively in NATO's decision-making and member countries' cooperation through approximately 400 committees and working groups as well as NATO agencies. The personnel of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Forces cover a significant part of this cooperation.
The Committee draws attention to the fact that cooperation resulting from Finland's NATO membership also requires significant personnel investments from the Finnish Security Intelligence Agency, which is responsible for civilian intelligence. In addition, care must be taken to ensure the adequacy of the resources of the Intelligence Ombudsman which oversees the legality of intelligence activities in Finland.
Joining NATO increases the amount of classified information in Finland. The Committee also pays attention to resourcing the measures required to take care of the security of classified information and facilities where the information is processed.
Read more about the parliamentary consideration of the government proposal on Finland's accession to NATO.
Read more about the two government reports on the changes in the security environment.