Finland's possibilities for making suitable land and sea areas as well as air space available for international exercises.

Summary of the original report published in Finnish on January 16th 2007:

On 31 January 2006, the Ministry of Defence appointed a commission to establish Finland's possibilities for making suitable land and sea areas as well as air space (hereafter: practice range) available for international exercises. The commission was established pursuant to the Government Report on Finnish Security and Defence Policy 2004 (VNS 6/2004). The goal of the practice range commission was to study the need for practice ranges from an international and commercial perspective, the opportunities available and ramifications. The work of the commission was based on the premise that any international and commercial use of practice ranges must advance the development of national military defence and crisis management capabilities. A second basic principle comprised Finnish legislation and other standards, pursuant to which only Finnish Defence Forces are to conduct military activities in Finland.

The Defence Forces primarily operate practice ranges for exercising the troops needed to defend Finland. International crisis management, the undersized and progressively more regulated European practice ranges as well as financial constraints increase the need for exercise cooperation and networking within Europe. Simultaneously, the importance of cooperation in maintaining and developing military capabilities is also growing. In addition to the above, the use of practice ranges also aims to meet the needs of companies.

The key conclusions and recommendations of the commission are:

The importance of international exercises and the need for identifying international partners for cooperation with the Defence Forces continue to increase. Reciprocal arrangements and resource sharing in Europe are on the rise. This is because it is progressively more difficult to maintain and improve practice ranges due to diminishing resources. The capacity utilization rate of the Defence Forces practice ranges is extremely high. According to the commission, it would be impossible to rent out practice ranges for international activities without having to limit their availability for domestic use. It is the commission's view that any international exercises arranged in Finland should always clearly benefit the Defence Forces or Finnish society. From the Defence Forces' perspective, it is unadvisable to rent out practice ranges for international exercises in which the Defence Forces do not themselves participate, as Finland would have to provide host nation support, thus generating additional expenses and tying down the Defence Forces' already diminishing personnel. Conversely, Finnish-led international military exercises add value to the development of our national defence and military crisis management capabilities.

The practice range commission advises against Finland selling or renting out its practice ranges to foreign operators. However, the commission appreciates the importance of organizing and developing international exercises in Finland in which foreign troops participate, and proposes that the practice be continued in line with present procedure. The commission deems that the basic premise should be such that international troops only be invited to Finland when Finns participate in said exercises, with the exception of activities comparable to the flight training of foreign pilots in Finland, in line with the Kauhava working group report. It is the view of the commission that the primary purpose of practice ranges must be to maintain and develop the Defence Forces' capabilities.

Increasing the availability of international airspace for exercises augments the flight training of the Finnish Air Force and improves the opportunities for organizing international and national air exercises. Establishing a cross-border exercise airspace over an area of land (western Lapland) should only be done on a temporary basis, connected to air exercises. Instead, a permanent procedure for setting up cross-border air exercise areas together with Sweden over the Bay of Bothnia and the Gulf of Bothnia is justified and should be established. It is the view of the commission that the possible development in airspace utilization, according to which European military aviation might also want to gain access to Finnish airspace, is not in our national interest, especially, if such use were to occur without Finnish participation or without compensation. The commission proposes that any use of Finnish airspace for international military aviation should be built on Finnish Air Force-led air exercises. As the joint capabilities of the Defence Forces are being developed, the Air Force will probably create an air-to-ground capability in the future. The commission proposes that the suitability of the Defence Forces' key practice ranges for the Air Force's air-to-ground activities be studied.

As regards the use of sea areas, the commission considers the present procedure appropriate, according to which exercises are only organized within Finnish territory when the Finnish Navy participates in the exercises. From the maritime rescue perspective, the commission notes that the Finnish Shipping Enterprise, the regional offices of the Finnish Maritime Administration as well as any maritime salvage companies participating in the activities be informed with regard to the time and location of international naval exercises. The present, uniform, practice applied to Defence Force vessels and other government vessels participating in international exercises is appropriate for vessel traffic service and piloting.

As long as the total volume of the Defence Forces' exercises does not significantly grow due to international exercises or commercial activities, the commission does not foresee any problems with environmental issues. The commission considers it important that, as the Defence Forces practice ranges are being developed, the environmental impacts be assessed and accountable operators be selected. It is the understanding of the commission that the increasing use of practice ranges also heightens fire and accident risks. Growing risks require better readiness from fire fighting, rescue activities, emergency response and ambulance services. The commission proposes that the requirements of international exercises be included in future international security treaties.

The commission has no objection to the remunerated activities of companies using Defence Forces practice ranges, especially, when such activities can be considered as advancing the national military defence, crisis management capabilities and interoperability. The commission, however, emphasizes that commercial activities must not get in the way of Defence Forces' exercises. When necessary, commercial activities on Defence Forces practice ranges and premises should be subject to political decision-making. The commission proposes that general principles for the compensation of accrued costs, activities and possible damage from commercial activities be established. Furthermore, in order to guide said activities the commission proposes that the Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with the Defence Staff, draw up national directives. Simultaneously, the need for framework agreements should also be established.

According to the commission, present legislation and other standards facilitate the present style international use of Defence Forces practice ranges. However, should the scope of international or commercial activities in practice ranges be increased, the standards should be reviewed.

Many societal aspects are linked to the development and use of practice ranges. It is the view of the commission that overall planning, development, maintenance and use of practice ranges be built on wide-ranging MOD guidance as well as planning and execution conducted by the Defence Staff. The commission also considers it important that the development of practice ranges be transparent and actively communicated. The commission proposes that the defence establishment compile a comprehensive practice range maintenance and development plan during 2007, so that it could be used in the preparation of the possible Security and Defence White Paper 2008, as well as in the development of practice ranges. This plan should also clearly detail the international and commercial use of practice ranges.