Frontpage/News/Rapporteur: Tomorrow’s security of supply requires commitment at all levels of society
Published 19.06.2024
Rapporteur: Tomorrow’s security of supply requires commitment at all levels of society
Major General (Ret.) Kim Mattsson, who was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA) to examine public-private partnerships in security of supply work, calls for increased cooperation, commitment and exchange of information at different levels of society. He points out that the operating conditions of the National Emergency Supply Organisation’s (NESO) pools, such as the overall resources allocated to security of supply, should be strengthened.
Rapporteur Kim Mattsson considers it important to ensure that the Finnish Government and Parliament are committed to security of supply. To this end he proposes establishing a preparedness forum between the Government, political decision-makers and security of supply actors. One way of doing this could be to develop the role of the National Emergency Supply Council.
Although ministries are responsible for preparedness in their respective administrative sectors, Mattsson’s report emphasises the coordinating role and strategic guidance of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Mattsson would also clarify the role and authority of the Minister of Economic Affairs as the minister responsible for security of supply to better correspond to the changed operating environment. Mattsson also stresses the need to be aware of the role of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment as the ministry responsible for security of supply and the management of the NESA.
According to Mattson’s report, the focus areas of the NESA’s new strategy – energy supply; food and water supply; transport and supply chains; digital security and security of supply of information; and industrial engineering arrangements for serious crises – are in alignment with both the public and private sector.
Mattson considers it necessary to increase cooperation between the agencies responsible for security, preparedness, which contributes to security, and security of supply. These include the Defence Command, the Security Committee, Traficom’s National Cyber Security Centre Finland, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. The report also stresses the importance of the NESA’s role as coordinator.
Resources, exchange of information and support for companies in need of improvement
The resource needs of security of supply are growing as a result of increasing threats, so the funding system of security of supply operations, which was established in the ‘90s, needs to be reformed and brought up to this decade, Mattsson states in his report. He considers the National Emergency Supply Organisation’s pools and their companies to be at the centre of public-private partnerships. Their operating conditions should be strengthened, as their resources are currently inadequate relative to their tasks.
Mattson also identifies major development needs in relation to the exchange of information between the NESA, the NESO’s pools and companies. Companies critical to security of supply that provide the NESA with operational picture information would like to see analyses carried out by the authorities in exchange. Responding to this need for information requires clarifying issues related to security classifications and information security, among other things.
To support their continuity management, companies also want cooperation structures, information sharing, instructions, reports, clear production capacity reservations, training and exercises, for example. More and more attention should be focused to ensure the resilience of entire value chains.
As regards international cooperation, Mattsson places the focus on neighbouring regions. Sweden is currently rebuilding its security of supply system, and cooperation between Finland and Sweden is constantly increasing. Preparedness and security of supply have also been included on the agendas of the EU and NATO.
The idea of self-sufficient security of supply is understandably deeply engrained in Finland, but with the country now being a member of NATO, this approach needs changing. In fact, we must recognise that in this new situation, Finland is a bigger factor than its size would suggest – including in terms of preparedness, states Kim Mattsson in his report.
“The NESA is already putting a great deal of effort into developing network activities in cooperation with the operators of the NESO. The report shows very well that we are on the right track,” says CEO of the NESA Janne Känkänen.
Mattson’s report will serve as input for the ongoing reform of security of supply legislation and the NESA’s network cooperation development programme.