Govt to amend laws regarding assigning conscripts abroad

The government on Thursday decided to submit to Parliament a bill amending the Conscription Act and the Act on the Finnish Defence Forces, said the Ministry of Defence in a press release on Thursday.

The amendments would mean that no separate consent would be needed to assign a person liable for military service who is participating in refresher exercises to attend military exercises or training or perform service duties abroad in a region close to Finland, when these are directly linked to the defence of Finland.

Regions close to Finland would mean the Baltic Sea as well as Sweden and Norway, because two countries are directly connected to the defence of Finland through NATO membership and geographical location.

The express consent of a person liable for military service who is serving as a conscript or participating in refresher exercises would be needed to assign them to attend military exercises that promote Finland's defence or training or perform service duties associated with that training when these take place outside Finland.

The amendments are scheduled to enter into force on 1 July 2027.

“We must have legislation that provides the defence administration with the best possible support in the changed security environment. With this bill, we aim to ensure that the Finnish Defence Forces can train troops, hone the skills and competence of reservists, and conduct international cooperation linked to the defence of Finland,” said Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen in the press release.

The provisions on refresher exercises for reservists would be amended by removing the maximum number of refresher exercise days based on military rank and training and introducing instead a general cap of 200 exercise days for all persons liable for military service.

This would strengthen equality among those liable for military service and enable the Finnish Defence Forces to make better use of the specialised expertise among reservists, said the ministry.

The government also proposes amendments to the Act on the Finnish Defence Forces. One amendment would specify the obligation of public officials in the Finnish Defence Forces to participate in international tasks, and another would allow a Finnish contingent participating in an international mission to be placed under a command other than that of the Finnish Defence Forces.

Unlike the draft government proposal that was circulated for comments, the bill submitted to Parliament does not contain amendments to the terms of employment applicable to the Finnish Defence Forces’ international cooperation. They were removed from the package for further preparation.