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The Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, is a bilateral treaty between Finland and the United States on mutual cooperation and NATO membership obligations. The DCA entered into force on September 1, 2024. [1]
The United States shares similar agreements with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia. [2]
On February 3, 2023, in the presence of Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, a delegation was appointed to conduct Finland-US negotiations on the Defense Cooperation Agreement. [4] The negotiations were formally initiated on March, 2023.
In its general session on December 14, 2023, the Finnish Government proposed to President Niinistö that Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, or in his stead Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, be authorized to sign the Defense Cooperation Agreement. [5] On December 15, President Niinistö accepted the proposal.
On December 18, 2023, the defense agreement between Finland and the United States was ratified in a Washington, D.C. ceremony attended by Häkkänen, Valtonen, and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. [6] [7] [8]
On December 19, Russia invited Finnish Ambassador Antti Helanterä to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an interview regarding the treaty. The Finnish Foreign Ministry replied that Finland had already called a meeting regarding the treaty on Finland's eastern border with Russia, in which the Russian Foreign Ministry also discussed the Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Finland. Russian officials stated that they "are taking the necessary steps to respond to the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies." [9]
The DCA agreement proceeded to the parliament's hearing after the government decided on the matter on May 30, 2024. [10] On June 24, 2024, the Constitutional Law Committee issued a statement that approval of the DCA agreement requires a qualified majority of two-thirds of the votes cast. [11] Parliament approved the DCA agreement on July 1, 2024. Only Anna Kontula (from the Left Alliance) made a motion to reject the agreement, but the motion was not supported. Thus, the DCA agreement was unanimously approved without a vote. [12]
The purpose of the DCA agreement is to improve cooperation between Finland and the United States in all security situations. [13] It agrees on the practices related to the entry of troops into the country and the advance storage of material. [14] In the agreement, Finland grants access to the following military areas to the United States:
The areas stipulated in the agreement will be jointly used by the Finnish Defense Forces and the United States Armed Forces. The agreement has taken into account possible future regional and spatial needs, to avoid a premature amending of the agreement. [16]
The DCA agreement also deals with taxation and criminal law. Finland will not charge rent for premises or areas made available to the United States. The United States, on the other hand, is only responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance costs of the premises and areas that the Finnish government allows them to use, unless otherwise agreed. The costs of the premises and areas jointly used by the US forces and the Finnish Defense Forces are covered in proportion to their use. The agreement does not prohibit nuclear weapons, but it refers to Finnish legislation and international agreements; the Nuclear Energy Act is in force in Finland, which prohibits the transit and storage of nuclear weapons in Finland. [17]
In the case of possible crimes committed by those serving in the US forces, judgment is given by the United States. On a case-by-case basis, the transfer of jurisdiction can be canceled if the crime is of special importance to Finland. These include socially significant crimes, sexual crimes, and crimes against life and health. [17] Finland waives its jurisdiction over crimes committed by US troops when they have served in Finland. However, in "particularly important individual cases" Finland can cancel the transfer of jurisdiction to the United States. The United States has the power to decide which activities of its forces in Finland are to be considered service-related in Finland. [18]
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Sauli Väinämö Niinistö is a Finnish politician who served as the 12th president of Finland from 2012 to 2024.
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Finland and the United States currently have good relations. The United States recognized Finland on May 7, 1919 after it declared independence in 1917, and officially established diplomatic relations in 1920. Due to World War II and Soviet pressure, relations were suspended between 1942 and 1945 before being raised to embassy level in 1954. Finland has been of strategic importance to the United States due to its position bordering the Soviet Union and later Russia, and after the end of the Cold War in 1991 Finland's shift to the West has led to warmer relations. There is significant trade activity, including military procurement, between the two countries.
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Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 63% of the vote and was re-elected for a second term, avoiding a second round. He received a plurality of the vote in every municipality and a majority in all but 13 municipalities.
Finland has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 4 April 2023.
Laura Huhtasaari is a Finnish politician and teacher. As a member of the Finns Party, she has represented Satakunta in the Parliament of Finland from April 2015 to July 2019. She was the Finns Party candidate for the 2018 Finnish presidential election. In 2019 Huhtasaari was elected to the European Parliament with 92,760 votes
The Finnish Reform Movement, previously known as Blue Reform, was a Finnish conservative political party.
Finnish Afghans are people from Afghanistan living in Finland. As of 2022, there are a total of 13,150 people of Afghan background residing in Finland.
This is the history of Finland from 1917 onwards.
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Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2024, with a second round held on 11 February. Voters elected a president of the Republic for a six-year term. Incumbent president Sauli Niinistö was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, having served the maximum two terms, ensuring that the president elected would be the country's thirteenth.
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Mika Petteri Aaltola is a Finnish political scientist and a member of the European Parliament. He was the previous director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He has gained media attention since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he follows and regularly comments on. Aaltola holds a doctorate in social sciences. He works as docent at Tampere University, and was a part-time professor at Tallinn University. He ran as an independent candidate for President of Finland in the 2024 presidential election.
The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, commonly referred to as the ICE Pact, is a trilateral partnership between the United States, Canada and Finland. The ICE Pact was formed on 11 July 2024 in Washington, D.C. The ICE Pact is a partnership in efforts to bolster shipbuilding capacities and industries, especially the enhancing of icebreaker ship production capacity in Canada and Finland, and to counter the influence of the Russian Federation and China in the Arctic region.
