Prime Minister Orpo and Minister of Defence Häkkänen to meet with European Defence Commissioner in Helsinki – topics on agenda include EU drone wall

Prime Minister Orpo and Minister of Defence Häkkänen to meet with European Defence Commissioner in Helsinki - topics on agenda include EU drone wall

European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius will meet with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen in Helsinki on Friday 26 September.

Discussions at the meeting will focus on the proposal put forth by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her annual State of the Union Address to build a drone wall along the Union's eastern border. Finland supports this idea and is contributing actively to the discussions on how the drone wall should be built in practice. Other topics of discussion will include the development of European defence and security and the funding for defence in the EU's multiannual financial framework.

"The planning and implementation of the drone wall are progressing at a good pace in the European Union. It is important that the Member States on the EU's eastern border, especially Finland, are involved in the practical implementation. Our meeting with the Defence Commissioner will help to ensure this. The recent drone sightings in Europe underline the importance of building the drone wall," said Prime Minister Orpo.

During the visit, Commissioner Kubilius will also be briefed on Finland's defence industry expertise.

"Finland has some of the best expertise in the world in many areas of defence technology, one very topical example being satellites. We support and encourage the European Union's efforts to strengthen security and defence on its eastern flank and will bring added value to this work in the form of military expertise and solutions offered by our defence industry," said Defence Minister Häkkänen.

Strengthening the EU's external and internal security is one of Finland's EU policy priorities.

Inquiries: Juuso Kilpinen, Special Adviser for EU Affairs, tel. +358 50 322 9636 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister's Office; Eemeli Heikkilä, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 140 020 and Emma Virkkunen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 140 176, Ministry of Defence