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Civil defence protects the civilian population The Ministry of the Interior leads and coordinates national civil defence. Rescue services are responsible for civil defence duties falling under their mandate at the national, regional and local leve...

13.11.2025 | Nordic ministers responsible for civil preparedness or their deputies will meet in Helsinki on 13 November. This so-called Haga ministerial meeting will be chaired by Finnish Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen. The ministers will discuss topical issues related to crisis preparedness in the Nordic countries.

Government Report on Internal Security 2025 On 11 September 2025, the Government adopted its Report on Internal Security and submitted it to Parliament for consideration. The report describes the significant changes that have taken place in Finlan...

6.3.2026 | Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany have agreed to deepen their cooperation on protecting the civilian population and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the ministries responsible for civil preparedness. The ministers discussed the Memorandum at a videoconference in February, with Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen representing Finland.

EU Civil Protection Mechanism helps countries confronted with overwhelming crises The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has become one of the most important instruments of international assistance in recent years. The Mechanism covers various natural ...

Joint EU reserve: rescEU The European Union’s rescEU system consists of reserves designed to prepare for various disasters. There are two rescEU stockpiles in Finland: the rescEU CBRN Stockpile , which prepares for chemical (C), biological (B), ra...

9.3.2026 | Finland’s Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen and Lithuania’s Minister of the Interior Vladislav Kondratovič met in Helsinki on 9 March 2026. The ministers discussed, among other things, the Finnish police system, cooperation related to preparedness, and the countries' common security challenges.

27.11.2025 | The inauguration of the civil defence coalition co-led by Ukraine and Finland will take place in Kyiv on 27 November. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend the inauguration to announce Finland’s EUR 11 million funding for constructing civil defence shelters. Finland has earlier confirmed approximately EUR two million in funding for the bilateral project, which makes Finland’s total support to Ukrainian civil defence sector about EUR 13 million. 

11.9.2025 | On 11 September, the Government submitted its Report on Internal Security to Parliament. According to the report, the international security situation is having an increasingly significant effect on Finland’s internal security. This change puts a strong emphasis on the preparedness of security authorities.

23.4.2025 | Finland’s Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen and Sweden’s Minister for Migration Johan Forssell met in Helsinki on Wednesday 23 April. Later the same day, Minister Rantanen also had a meeting with Sweden's Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin in Espoo.

24.9.2025 | Government Report on Internal Security 11 September 2025 Government Report on Internal Security 2025 • In September 2025, the Finnish Government submitted its Report on Internal Security to Parliament. The report was prepared under the lead of the...

11.9.2025 | Government Report on Internal Security 11 September 2025 Government Report on Internal Security 2025 • In September 2025, the Finnish Government submitted its Report on Internal Security to Parliament. The report was prepared under the lead of the...

16.9.2024 | At a meeting between the Finnish and Swedish governments in Stockholm on 16 September, the countries agreed to further intensify their cooperation in civil preparedness and emergency planning. Minister of Transport, Communications and the Interior Lulu Ranne and Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin signed a letter of intent concerning the joint planning of the protection of the civilian population.

19.3.2025 | JOINT LETTER OF INTENT of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Finland and the Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine following the joint visit of the Presidents of Finland and Ukraine to the Merihaka civil defense shelter 19 March...

2.9.2025 | Ms Henna Virkkunen Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Mr Magnus Brunner European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration 29 August 2025 Dear Vice-President, Dear Commissioner, More than four years have passed since the beg...

13.3.2025 | Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen visited Ukraine on 11–12 March and met with Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. During her visit, Minister Rantanen also learnt about the various activities of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ branch of government, such as the situation centre and the operations of rescuers and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

4.3.2025 | Denmark's new Minister for Resilience and Preparedness Torsten Schack Pedersen and Finland's Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen met in Helsinki on 4 March. The ministers discussed current issues related to preparedness and signed a letter of intent on civil preparedness and resilience.

12.10.2022 | In August-September, Finland delivered a total of five trucks to Ukraine that contained civil defence equipment, hospital supplies and scanning equipment. The material assistance was provided through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

24.8.2022 | On 8 July, Finland sent medical supplies and radiation safety equipment to Ukraine, and on 2 August, rescue service supplies, such as stretchers, defibrillators, first-aid kits and protective equipment. The material assistance was provided through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

6.9.2024 | The civil preparedness ministers of the Nordic countries, Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine met in Vilnius on 6 September to discuss the current situation and common challenges. Items on the agenda included warning the population, civil defence shelters and mass evacuations across borders. Finland was represented at the meeting by State Secretary Antti Salminen.