Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) met with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, in Warsaw on Friday.
"We talked about defence cooperation. There are many common issues at the moment," Orpo said, noting that Finland and Poland share the same challenges in the Baltic Sea and areas bordering Russia.
When it comes to defence cooperation, Finland has historically looked towards Sweden and the other Nordic countries. Sweden has now also emphasised the importance of working with Poland.
"We are on the same playing field. If someone were to attack Europe from the east, it's the Baltic Sea region that we would defend together. In that case, our interests are completely shared. Poland's role is absolutely essential," the Finnish PM said.
At a press event following their meeting, Tusk said Poland and Finland shared long-standing defence partnerships. "Patria and Rosomak are flagship examples of good defence cooperation between Finland and Poland."
Rosomak is Poland's name for the Finnish defence company's armoured vehicles, which it sold to the Polish armed forces in the early 2000s.
Since Finland joined Nato last year, relations between Finland and Poland have gained momentum. Unlike Germany and many other European countries, Poland, with its 38 million inhabitants, has consistently invested in its defence — including prior to Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Orpo emphasised the importance of quickly getting the European defence industry up and running.
"We need to have a response and deterrent to Russia's growing and apparent threat to EU countries. We cannot rely solely on the United States for our defence."
Tusk also called on Russia's neighbouring countries to intensify cooperation in border security. According to him, Finland and Poland are ready to strengthen policies aimed at combating illegal immigration.
"Both countries have decided to strengthen their borders by building fences," said Tusk.
"It is clear that we need EU-level measures to prevent and manage situations where instrumentalised migration is used against us," Orpo said in a Finnish government statement following the meeting.
"The Finnish and Polish borders are under a hybrid attack where third-country nationals are ushered to cross the border...Finland is well prepared for hybrid influence activities, and we are working to further improve our preparedness," the release cited Orpo as saying.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.
