The shift began under former Prime Minister Sanna Marin, when Helsinki granted its first partially classified license—covering a sale to Israel—in June 2021.
Subsequent confidential licenses have authorized shipments to Ukraine, Israel, Canada, the United States, Estonia, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates, Yle found; nearly half concerned deliveries to Kyiv.
“From 2000 to 2020, thousands of Finnish export licenses were issued without classification. Something has clearly changed,” said Kari Paasonen of Tampere Peace Research Institute, adding that secrecy “undermines democratic oversight.”
The Defense Ministry said redactions are made at the request of exporting firms or recipient states, citing commercial confidentiality or national‑security reasons.
“If they invoke national security, we assess the criterion is met,” ministry official Riikka Pitkänen told Yle.
While classified permits remain a small share of total licenses, Paasonen noted that a single authorization can cover substantial quantities of weapons, meaning the impact on transparency may be significant.
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Source: TVP, Yle