NATO’s Enhanced Opportunity Programme (EOP) is a useful instrument for Finland in maintaining and developing its NATO partnership. It is important for Finland to develop regular political dialogue and practical cooperation in the coming years. The latter includes, among other things, pre-approval as a partner to crisis management operations, participation in the initial phases of NATO’s operational, training and exercise planning and cyber-defence cooperation. The continual development of military cooperation with NATO is one of the key elements through which Finland maintains and develops its national defence and the capabilities for defending its territory. Finland continues to extensively participate in NATO exercises and training activities. The participation of partner countries in NATO exercises takes place under the auspices of partnership policy. As Finland-NATO cooperation is being deepened it must be kept in mind that partnership cooperation neither includes any Article 5 based security guarantees nor obligations. Nevertheless, interoperability achieved through cooperation, for its part, ensures the elimination of any practical impediments to a possible membership in a military alliance. While carefully monitoring the developments in its security environment, Finland maintains the option to seek NATO membership. According to the assessment of the effects of possible NATO membership, commissioned by the Government, NATO is a stabilising influence in the Baltic Sea region. Therefore, it is only logical that the assessment emphasised that Finland and Sweden share the same security environment with NATO. The security policy choices of Finland and Sweden are closely connected. According to the assessment NATO membership would fundamentally impact the security policy situation in the Baltic Sea region. A membership application would be a fundamental and far-reaching decision in Finland’s foreign and security policy, and would, therefore, require wide-ranging debate and careful consideration. 5.7 Focus attention on the future of the Arctic region Finland is an important actor in the Arctic region. Finland, bilaterally and multilaterally, promotes stability and security in the Arctic region. Finland aims at achieving wide-ranging cooperation in the Arctic Council and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, which builds on shared norms. The commitments to sustainable development will be taken into consideration in the utilisation of the economic growth potential in the Arctic region. Finland contributes to the 24