Norway Plans to Establish State Preparedness Hub Near the Border With Russia: "An Important Measure"
Natalia Andreassen, Professor at the Center for Crisis Management and Collaboration – Nordlab, Nord University. (Photo: Nord University)
The Norwegian government wants to strengthen preparedness and state presence in Eastern Finnmark, Northern Norway, with a new hub. This will boost Norway's ability to manage crises in the High North, believes Professor Natalia Andreassen.
The Norwegian government wants to develop a national preparedness action zone in the regions of Troms and Finnmark in Northern Norway – and is fronting this measure in its new High North Strategy.
As part of this action zone, the government now proposes to establish a state preparedness hub in the town of Kirkenes, which is located near the Norwegian-Russian border.
"The High North, and Eastern Finnmark in particular, is facing significant security and preparedness challenges, which is also covered in the Total Preparedness white paper. There is a need for strengthened state presence in Eastern Finnmark, both for security and societal reasons," says the Norwegian Justice and Public Security Minister Astri Aas-Hansen (Labor).
The proposed hub will contribute to increased coordination of various state sectors' work on civil resilience and civil-military cooperation in the High North. It will also facilitate stronger cooperation on total defense with Finland and Sweden.
Increased presence from state authorities in Eastern Finnmark will help build expertise and cooperation on settlement, activity, preparedness and security in the region, says the Norwegian Minister of Justice and Public Security Astri Aas-Hansen. (Photo: Magnus Buer/the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security)
Positive to the proposal
"Increasing local presence and the availability of preparedness resources in Eastern Finnmark is a very important measure to strengthen Norway's ability to manage crises in the High North," believes Natalia Andreassen, Professor at the Center for Crisis Management and Collaboration – Nordlab, Nord University.
"A preparedness hub will also create workplaces and professional environments in a region experiencing depopulation," continues Andreassen in an e-mail to High North News.
However, exercise activity will be central for increased practical preparedness capabilities, she points out.
"For the preparedness cooperation to work in practice, it is important for preparedness actors, including local communities and knowledge environments, to contribute to joint exercises across country borders in the North. This is also mentioned in the government's High North Strategy."
"More cooperation with Sweden and Finland is an important point. We can learn from and further develop experiences from
Sweden’s total defense, which coordinates civil and military actors, and Finland's concept of comprehensive security, focusing on preparedness regions and civil defense centers, with close cooperation between municipality, state and defense," continues the professor.
The border town of Kirkenes could be the location for a new emergency response initiative if the Norwegian parliament green-lights the government's proposal. (Photo: Harvey Barrison, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Arctic framework
Andreassen also points to the significance of competence development and exchange of experiences within preparedness in the High North and the Arctic.
"It is important for the preparedness capacity to increase in line with expertise development. The High North Strategy also mentions the importance of connecting knowledge institutions, the development of flexible education programs, and facilitating cooperation and the sharing of experiences between the Arctic local communities," writes the professor.
"In March 2025, a first-ever Arctic preparedness conference was organized by the Arctic Council. Conclusions from the conference regarding the strengthening of Arctic cooperation on preparedness and crisis management have been carried forward in the priorities of the Kingdom of Denmark', which is the new chair of the council," she adds.
To be operated by DSB
The preparedness hub in Kirkenes is to be operated by the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB), with support from the County Governor of Troms and Finnmark.
As part of the measure, the governments want to strengthen the two aforementioned institutions with capacity and staff resources for specific efforts for preparedness and security in the High North.
DSB will be tasked with starting the establishment of the hub if the parliament adopts the government's proposal.
In the meantime, the government has asked all departments to assess whether there are various activities and tasks in their own sector that could benefit from being carried out at this hub.
