Speech by Foreign Minister Timo Soini at the Institute of International and European Affairs, Dublin, 4 July 2017.
Greater security for Europeans through closer cooperation on EU security and defence…
Going forward, it is important to be clear on what defence cooperation is and what it is not. It is not about collective defence. We are not turning the EU into a military alliance or creating a European army. This bears repeating, since misconceptions – and blatant misrepresentations – still persist.The responsibility for national defence will remain firmly in the hands of the member states. But the EU has a wealth of tools to support strengthening national capability development, European defence industry and markets, and security of supply within Europe. Many of these tools are civilian in nature: funding for research, incentives for investments, facilitating cooperative networks, and legislation to ensure a level playing field for our industries…
We have put forward proposals for projects to be developed under PESCO, based on our national priorities, and are currently looking for partners with whom to take these forward. Our proposals include, among others, space cooperation, maritime defence, logistics forces and developing the EU’s cyber defence capability. Läs talet