German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday hailed Finland as a model for Europe’s defence against Russia, praising its resilience and civil defence system ahead of talks in Helsinki on regional security and support for Ukraine.
“Finland’s resilience and civil defence show us how we, too, can position ourselves even more effectively against threats,” Wadephul said ahead of his two-day visit to Finland.
“Defence capability is not an abstract concept; it is a prerequisite for peace and security,” he said.
Wadephul said Finland has taken a comprehensive approach to security, in which all sections of the population have a role to play. “We in Europe can learn from this experience to better arm ourselves against sabotage, cyberattacks or disinformation.”
Wadephul is due to meet his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, in Helsinki. The two ministers are also set to visit a border patrol vessel on Wednesday and travel to the Finnish-Russian border on Thursday, Germany’s Foreign Office said.
Finland’s more than 1,300-kilometre border with Russia has been under heightened security since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. When Finland joined NATO in April 2023, it became the alliance’s longest land border with Russia.
Finland closed its land border crossings with Russia in December 2023, accusing Moscow of directing migrants to the frontier to destabilize the country. In June, Helsinki decided to keep the crossings closed, saying the risk of what it described as instrumentalized migration remained.
The closure does not apply to air or maritime borders. Finland has also reported an increase in incidents involving Ukrainian drones that accidentally crashed on its territory, although Finnish authorities say there is currently no direct military threat.
