2017
The draft budget for the administrative branch of the Ministry of Defence 2018 - the defence budget is in line with the Defence Report
The sum total of expenditure in the administrative branch will increase slightly on the current year. The draft budget for the administrative branch of the Ministry of Defence is EUR 2 872 million for 2018, which is about EUR 42 million or 1 per cent higher than in the 2017 budget. The draft budget includes, in accordance with the Government Programme, an appropriation increase for defence and an additional appropriation to improve readiness to respond better to changes in the security environment. The proportion of the expenditure in the main title of the Ministry of Defence accounts for 1.24 per cent of the anticipated GDP in 2018 (in 2017 this was 1.27 per cent).
It is planned to spend about EUR 941 million or 39 per cent of the national defence appropriations (without value-added tax expenditure) on materiel readiness; defence materiel procurement accounts for about EUR 483 million. In addition, about EUR 458 million of the Defence Forces’ operating expenditure is planned to be spent on maintaining materiel and equipping troops.
A maximum order authorisation of EUR 1.6 billion is proposed for the procurement of defence materiel; the expenditure is scheduled for 2018-2027. The Navy’s strategic project Squadron 2020 is included, for the most part, in this order authorisation. Other major projects include The Squadron 2020 MLU, the anti-ship missile system 2020, a national defence infrastructure, targeting support for military intelligence, and equipping Air Force bases. An authorisation order of EUR 166 million is proposed for the operating expenditure of the Defence Forces for 2018-2022 to carry out procurements under the Defence Forces’ development programme and to acquire spare parts and maintenance services.
Military crisis management will focus on Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan in 2018. A total of EUR 57 million is proposed for equipment and administrative in military crisis management. The planned strength of Finnish crisis management personnel in various operations, mainly in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, is currently estimated to require the work contribution of about 520 man-years.