SDP and the Swedish Social Democrats establish Finnish-Swedish Security Committee

The opposition leaders of Sweden and Finland are deepening their cooperation to strengthen shared security and defence objectives for the future.

The Social Democratic parties of Finland and Sweden have established a joint Finnish-Swedish Security Committee aimed at aligning the parties’ approaches to security and defence policy. The committee will focus on topics such as rapid strengthening of defence capabilities, exchanging experiences on readiness, developing joint positions on cross-border issues, and enhancing Nordic influence within NATO and the EU. A shared understanding of developments in the Baltic Sea region is particularly emphasized.

“The purpose of this new committee is to promote stronger coordination and understanding between our parties’ security policy experts and between our two countries in this new global context. Through joint initiatives and cooperation, we can best strengthen the safety and stability of our nations. Sweden and Finland must jointly take responsibility and show leadership in our part of the world,” said SDP Chair Antti Lindtman.

“We are living in a new era, and uncertainty will continue for a long time. At the same time, hybrid threats stemming from Russia’s aggression demonstrate that closer cooperation between Sweden and Finland is more essential than ever,” stated Magdalena Andersson, Chair of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.

The first meeting of the Security Committee focused on deepening cooperation and joint action. Finland and Sweden already work closely together on security issues—for example, through joint exercises and knowledge exchange between Finland’s Nyland Brigade and Sweden’s Amphibious Regiment Amf1, which have a long-standing tradition of collaboration.

“Strengthening the cooperation between the Finnish and Swedish amphibious forces, both at sea and on land, is a natural continuation of our already close joint training. A good example of deepening naval cooperation is the Swedish-Finnish Naval Task Group, jointly operated by the two countries,” Lindtman explained.

According to Lindtman, the discussions also raised the need to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation on defence issues.

“It would be valuable to establish a regular structure and content for meetings between the Finnish and Swedish parliamentary defence committees. While cooperation already exists, we need clear frameworks. Political dialogue could also be expanded to include experts from the defence industry and research sectors in both countries,” Lindtman added.

The Finnish-Swedish Security Committee is led by party chairs Magdalena Andersson and Antti Lindtman.

Other members include the parliamentary group leaders Tytti Tuppurainen and Lena Hallengren, party secretaries Tobias Baudin and Mikkel Näkkäläjärvi, defence policy representatives Mika Kari and Peter Hultqvist, foreign policy representatives Johannes Koskinen and Morgan Johansson, and economic policy representatives Joona Räsänen and Mikael Damberg.