Ministerial group on Baltic Sea Security in Helsinki: Joint measures to respond to drone-related threats complement national preparedness

The interior ministers of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany or their representatives have gathered for a meeting of the ministerial group on Baltic Sea Security on 17 and 18 June. The representatives of the countries will discuss drone-related threats in the region and joint measures to respond to these threats. The meeting is chaired by Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

“Our cooperation is more important than ever in the changed security situation in the Baltic Sea region, where drones pose growing risks to public safety, critical infrastructure and national security,” says Minister Rantanen.

“Because of our location, we have a particular responsibility for the security of Europe as a whole. Russia is the most serious security threat to Europe,” says Rantanen.

Drone-related incidents do not respect national borders 

The topics on the agenda include the European Commission’s Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security and its implementation. The Action Plan covers several branches of government and aims to complement national measures. Important themes for the Ministry of the Interior's branch of government include law enforcement, critical infrastructure, external border control and hybrid threats. 

Many countries in the Baltic Sea region have already done a lot to respond to drone threats, for example through preparedness planning, cooperation between authorities, situational awareness and warning the population. In Finland, for example, the police, the Border Guard and the Defence Forces work very closely together to detect and counter drones.

“However, drone-related incidents do not respect national borders. That is why we need to take joint action across the Baltic Sea countries to respond to these threats,” says Minister Rantanen.

Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs will also attend the meeting via a video connection. Ukraine has an enormous amount of experience and expertise related to drones that the Baltic Sea countries can draw on in their preparedness. At the same time, the countries will continue to support Ukraine, including through material assistance, for as long as necessary.

At the start of a dinner held in Helsinki on 17 June as part of the ministerial group’s programme, the participants briefly met President of the Republic Alexander Stubb to discuss the current security situation.

In its spring spending limits discussion, the Finnish Government agreed on strengthening the counter-drone capabilities. In the supplementary budget, EUR 50.2 million has been earmarked for development; of this total EUR 44 million will be allocated to the Finnish Border Guard and EUR 6.2 million to the police. This will strengthen drone detection, identification and countering capabilities. 

Inquiries:

Laura Yli-Vakkuri, Director General, tel. +358 40 720 2216, firstname.lastname@gov.fi