The Province of Åland Islands has a recognised status under international law. This does not prevent Finland from intensifying defence cooperation within the European Union, with international organisations and in the Nordic context. Nordic cooperation is of central importance to Finland and its security. Finland and Sweden, sharing a value basis and the same security environment, are ever more cooperating in security policy. The security and prosperity of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are important to Finland. The European Union is the central frame of reference of Finland’s foreign and security policy, and an important security community. The European Union which emerged as this continent’s internal peace movement supports a rulesbased international order and global governance in its external action. The European Union is a significant actor in the areas defined in its founding Treaties, such as the EU’s Single Market, the free movement of people as well as the Economic and Monetary Union. It is very active in the fields of trade policy, foreign and security policy, the Common Security and Defence Policy and internal security, especially in combating terrorism and organised crime and in border security. The European Union faces external pressure such as migration, which tests the strength of the Schengen Agreement, as well as terrorist strikes and internal centrifugal forces arising from the Member States’ internal development. Despite many internal challenges in the European Union the Member States have conducted a coherent foreign and security policy and through it have managed to respond to different security challenges. It has become necessary and possible to implement the mutual assistance clause included in the Treaty of Lisbon. In its agenda, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, now places priority on deterrence and collective defence. In response to the deteriorated security situation NATO aims to stabilise the Baltic Sea region through its measures while continuing to prepare for a possible outbreak of a military crisis. Russia, in turn, claims that it is NATO’s action which sustains the tensions. NATO has placed more emphasis on strengthening the defence capability of the Baltic States and the other eastern NATO nations and supporting their defence. This also impacts the evolution of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO partnerships. The presence and action of NATO brings security to the region. As a result of the changing environment cooperation in transatlantic and NATO contexts as 12