09.06.2026 at 06.45
Performance audit

NATO-related preparation and decision-making

At the early stages of Finland’s NATO membership, the central government rapidly established the structures and operating practices for its preparation and decision-making processes in Nato-related issues. These have also been developed further as understanding of NATO’s activities and structures has increased in the Finnish administration. However, current structures and operating practices are not fully functional in all respects, elevating the risks to Finland’s preparatory and decision-making effectiveness.

Photo: Juha Roininen / Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Download report: NAOF's conclusions and recommendations: NATO-related preparation and decision-making PDF 195 KB

Scope of the audit

Structures and operating practices created for the preparation and decision-making of NATO-related matters in the Government
Assessment and presentation of the fiscal impacts of Finland’s NATO membership
Government activities to inform the Parliament of matters related to NATO
The roles and duties of ministries and other government organisations in the preparation of NATO matters

Key findings

NATO-related preparation and decision-making has been effective as a whole, and the Government has been able to formulate national positions also in matters that have been brought forward in NATO at short notice.
In general, the government has provided sufficient information to decision-makers.
The presentation of the fiscal impacts of Finland’s NATO membership has not been sufficiently transparent.
Information sharing and secure information systems have been the most significant issues in NATO-related preparatory processes.

Briefly

NATO membership has significant fiscal implications for Finland. In connection with Finland’s accession to NATO, the Government estimated that the direct costs of NATO membership would amount to EUR 70–100 million annually. The indirect costs are significantly higher than this figure. In the future, NATO-related expenditure will primarily be incorporated into the growing appropriations of Finland’s defence administration, making it impractical to distinguish it separately from the costs of Finland’s national defence.

Overall, the Finnish central government has fared well in its NATO-related preparation and decision-making processes. Finland has been able to formulate national positions, even at short notice, on matters discussed in NATO and has also been successful at achieving its objectives within NATO. The Government has provided Parliament adequate amount of information on NATO matters, thought the provision of this information has not always been sufficiently proactive or timely.

The current structures and operating practices are not fully functional in all respects. In particular, there have been challenges in the cross-administrational cooperation between various governmental organisations.

Overall, the central government has fared well in its NATO-related preparation and decision-making.

Between 2022 and 2025, parliamentary committees heard over

430

expert opinions on NATO.

In the coming years, the Finnish Defence Forces will grow by

2,000

person-years as a result of the duties arising from Finland's NATO membership.

Recommendations of the National Audit Office

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence should ensure that the cross-administrative, permanent coordination bodies under their responsibility are issued documented operational goals.

The Ministry of Defence should ensure that appropriate, documented, and well-established practices exists and are operational between the Ministry and the Finnish Defence Forces to coordinate the preparation, lobbying activities, and policy formulation of NATO matters.

The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs should ensure that the best available assessment of the fiscal impacts is included in documents essential for national policy formulation and decision-making, such as the memorandums of the President and Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy (TP-UTVA), and that public documents on these assessments are also prepared whenever possible.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Finnish Defence Forces should ensure that adequate arrangements are made for distributing, receiving and processing documents in the central government's information systems.

The Ministry of Defence and the Finnish Defence Forces should ensure that appropriate and documented operating models are in place for applying for joint funding and managing jointly funded capabilities, and that the activities are adequately coordinated by Finland’s domestic administration and its diplomatic mission to NATO.