Finland to participate in NATO crisis management exercise

Press release 55/2010
25 February, 2010

Finland, as a partner country of the Partnership for Peace, will participate in the NATO CMX 2009 Crisis Management Exercise on 4–10 March. The exercise is designed to practise crisis management procedures, including planning and consultations between NATO and its partner countries, as well as cooperation at the national level. Decision-making will be practised in the execution phase, i.e. in situations where an imaginary NATO-led operation is already in progress. The exercise involves decision-making and consultation; no troops will be deployed.

NATO holds a crisis management exercise annually. The NATO partner countries are now invited to participate for the third time. Finland took part in the previous crisis management exercises open to partner countries, in 2008 and 2005. In addition to the NATO allies, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will participate in this year’s exercise.

Besides NATO Headquarters and the NATO strategy-level military staffs, civilian and military staffs in national capitals and NATO representative offices will take part in the exercise. Participation from Finland will include the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Mission of Finland to NATO in Brussels, the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Command, the Ministry of the Interior and other authorities as needed.

Additional information: Counsellor Rae Verkkoranta, Political Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel +358 9 1605 6544; and First Secretary Emmi Oikari, tel. +32 2 706 2113 and Lieutenant Colonel Asko Kopra, tel. +32 2 706 2120, at the Mission of Finland to NATO in Brussels