, Finnish politicians want tighter supervision of what kind of acquisitions the national defence forces make and how they are scheduled.
The issue has gained currency in discussions on the government's next report on foreign and security policy.
Many politicians are vexed that the defence forces have the habit of slipping new purchases into the state budget without prior debate. In addition, there will be major annual expenditure in future years for the air force's Hornet jet fighter project.
The chairman of the Parliament's security policy monitoring group, Centre Party MP Juha Korkeaoja says that legislators want to be better informed about what acquisition plans the defence forces are developing.
“I consider it well founded that we should have a stronger political anchor for the development of the defence forces and defence purchasing. It should be ensured that what is bought, is really needed,” adds another group member, Social Democratic MP Eero Heinäluoma.
High levels of expenditure on the Hornets have raised questions about how many fighters Finland will actually need in the future.
“As far as I know, the number of fighters is not written into the constitution,” Heinäluoma remarked to YLE.
Finnish Broadcasting
