Special Adviser Riikka Pitkänen

1. Who are you?

I’m Riikka Pitkänen and I work as a Special Adviser in the Materiel Unit of the Resource Policy Department. I completed my Master of Administrative Sciences degree at the University of Tampere where I took my major in public law. My degree also includes administrative sciences, business studies and international politics. I come from Vaasa, and in my free time I go frequently to jazz dance classes.

2. What’s your job profile like?

My job mainly consists of managing the activities related to the export control of defence materiel, which includes not only the processing of actual export licence applications but also extensive national and international cooperation with various interest groups. The export control team operates within the Materiel Unit and I act as team leader. I also assist the Head of Unit in operational and financial planning.  This autumn I also took on the responsibilities of the Ministry’s risk management and preparedness matters and I represent the Materiel Unit.

3. How did you come to work at the Ministry of Defence?

During my studies, I was a trainee in the secretariat of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, where I worked in close cooperation with the secretariat of the Defence Committee. This sparked my interest in the Ministry of Defence, and after a traineeship in Parliament in 2007, I was recruited as a trainee in the Defence Policy Department of the Ministry of Defence where I dealt with international affairs. Then in 2009, I was employed by the Ministry of Defence. I later worked at the Ministry of Transport and Communications for a year and a half, and in 2012 I returned to the Ministry of Defence.

Traineeships in Parliament and the Ministry of Defence sparked an interest in working in the highest governing bodies. At the Ministry of Defence, I was inspired by the distinctive and original nature of the administrative branch and quite soon I realised that until the traineeships I’d had a narrow picture of defence policy and its different dimensions. For example, the field of international cooperation was much broader than I had imagined. During the traineeship, I was able to learn what the work of public officials is like in a ministry. It was interesting to see what it takes to prepare matters that end up in news headlines. Of course, there was much to learn about the work at first, but it was easy to become part of the work community. The Ministry of Defence is an interesting workplace because the work has international dimensions and we deal with matters with major significance to society.

4. What kind of matters are now topical in your work? 

The environment for export control of defence materiel is constantly changing and the authorities’ activities in export control must take into account the new needs of international obligations, developing EU cooperation and the domestic defence industry. We are currently examining, for example, the special features of transferring intangible defence assets and the verified practices concerning the end use of exported defence materiel.

The Nordic countries signed an agreement on cooperation in the export control of defence materiel in November 2020. As Finland holds the chairmanship of NORDEFCO, we will organise a meeting in accordance with the agreement the coming autumn. I look forward to the meeting with great interest as we have a good dialogue with our Nordic colleagues and cooperation has proved very useful. The export control issues that are related to the EU Defence Fund projects will certainly involve a high workload this autumn.

There is continued dialogue with different stakeholders. We work in close cooperation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Defence Command Finland, National Police Board, Customs and the Finnish Security Intelligence Service, and we are in contact with different actors in the defence industry. In the autumn, we will organise an export control seminar to share information on export control practices and possible reforms; this is for both industry and others who need this information. International export control forums meet on a regular basis, and these include the Conference of States Parties of the international Arms Trade Treaty, which will be held, partly virtually, at the turn of August and September in Geneva.

5. How has the work culture in the Ministry of Defence changed during your career?

Maybe the coronavirus pandemic has made the biggest change in the work culture. Even before the pandemic, it was possible to work remotely, but the past one and a half years have made us work remotely to a completely new extent. Although we are slowly returning to local work, we will certainly take advantage of the benefits of extended remote work in the future, too. Otherwise the work culture has remained more or less the same, but there have been changes in the content of work. For example, the EU’s role in the Materiel Unit’s field of activity has increased significantly over the years.

The number of different electronic systems has increased and the administrative work of experts has increased. It is obvious that the “digital leap” has also had positive sides: an electronic licensing system was introduced in processing export licences in 2017, and this has facilitated the work of both the licensing authority and the licence applicants. The defence industry as a sector has become more diverse, and the subject of controls often requires careful consideration. The media has also become more interested in export control.

6. What is the best thing about your job?

I like it when the work keeps challenging me. The day is often completely different from what I had planned in the morning. One of the great sides of the work is the wide range of stakeholders. The best thing, however, is working with my brilliant and professional colleagues.

7. Describe your workplace with a few words

My work community is full of experts who are familiar with the large-scale issues and areas of responsibility of the Materiel Unit. We are ready to take on great responsibilities quickly, and a certain kind of courage is a unifying feature. Despite this, we are quite laid-back. The threshold for asking questions and discussing is very low, whether we are working remotely or locally. The export control team is small but feisty, and we pull together very well.