Government Office launched review of Supo’s transfer in June

The Prime Minister’s Office decided in June to review the transfer of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, known as Supo, according to a decision seen by Yle.

The decision was dated June 25 and signed by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Under-Secretary of State Timo Lankinen. Yle reported on Tuesday that a review of Supo’s governance was under way.

The decision says the Prime Minister’s Office established a working group after consulting the Ministry of the Interior. The group will examine the most appropriate way to organise Supo’s governance within the Government and how its operations should be developed in the future.

According to the decision, the working group’s term began on August 1 and will end at the end of March 2027.

Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said she only learned about the review from her officials on Tuesday. Matti Sarasmaa, permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, confirmed to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday that the ministry had not known about the review.

Ministry was on the distribution list

Ministerial Adviser Petri Knape and Chief Specialist Jyri Rantala have been invited to join the working group.

The group will be supported by a committee made up of the permanent secretaries of the ministries of the interior, defence, foreign affairs and education, as well as the Prime Minister’s State Secretary, who will chair the committee. A representative of TPK may also take part.

Yle has been unable to reach Sarasmaa. It remains unclear why the minister and the permanent secretary did not receive the Prime Minister’s Office’s decision, even though the permanent secretary and the ministry were included on its distribution list.

Supo currently operates under the Ministry of the Interior. Its possible transfer became a topic of discussion this week after Jukka Salovaara, the outgoing State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, proposed at the Ambassadors’ Conference that Supo be placed under the foreign ministry.

Review covers several objectives and duties

The Prime Minister’s Office decision says the civilian intelligence legislation that entered into force in 2019 fundamentally changed Supo’s duties and operations. Finland’s NATO membership has also created significant expectations for intelligence work, it says.

The review is intended to present alternative ways of organising Supo’s governance within the Government. It must consider Supo’s growing role as an intelligence service, its relationship with NATO, its role in providing information to the country’s political leadership and other foreign and security policy leaders, and cooperation and the division of responsibilities between civilian and military intelligence.

The review will also examine what legislative measures the proposed alternatives would require and how Supo’s operations should be developed in the future.