Parliament is currently reviewing the Defense Force's latest defense and security policy report. The Reservists’ Association says that the budget figures now being considered are not enough to replace aging equipment. In addition, cutbacks would mean that during the decade beginning in 2020 the size of Finland's wartime forces would be significantly reduced.
The Association's chairman, Centre Party MP Mikko Savola, says that he fears that Finland will follow the same path as Sweden, cutting defense spending so much that it will not be possible to defend the whole of the country.
"Then, the choices before us would be an alliance or that Finland would form a military vacuum," he told listeners at a reservists gathering in Kouvola on Sunday.