The hunt in neighbouring Sweden for a suspected foreign submarine has raised the question of how Finland's Defense Forces would handle a similar situation in Finnish territorial waters.
Two newspapers, Aamulehti and Kaleva, on Thursday presented expert views on how a submarine hunt would be carried out here.
The commander of the Finnish Navy's missile boat Pori, Patrik Hämäläinen, told these papers that the first step would be an effort to define an operational area.
"Coastal conditions are such that we can very easily determine specific areas in which a submarine is able to operate. With this information, forces, as much as deemed necessary would be concentrated in those areas.
Video interviews with military experts expand on the topic who say there are there are a few sightings reported by the public ever year, but indicate that none have been confirmed over the past two decades.
Finns and the EU
Finland's largest circulation daily, Helsingin Sanomat, is publishing a series looking at Finland's 20 years as a member of the European Union.
Thursday's feature stated that today, the Finns clearly feel themselves to be a part of Europe. According to the Eurobarometer, a measurement of the attitudes of Europeans, the feeling of belonging to Europe has significantly grown since Finland joined the EU in 1995.
Additionally, the results of polls by the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) show that growing numbers of Finns believe that the nation has benefited from membership. Compared to the EU average, the Eurobarometer has found the Finns to be very satisfied with their lives and that sense of satisfaction has risen during the period of membership in the EU.
Helsingin Sanomat examines a range of issues and changes that have impacted the country over the past 20 years, including the rise of international contacts.
In this context, Helsingin Sanomat noted a contradiction. According to ISSP surveys a growing majority of Finns consider immigrants as an asset to the nation's economy. Even so, the willingness of the Finns to increase the level of immigration has fallen during the two decades of European Union membership.
Weapons exports at a high
The business and economics daily Talouselamä reported on Thursday that Finland's arms exports hit a record high last year, nearly doubling from the 2012 level. It quotes the SaferGlobe network as reporting the total value of Finnish arms exports last year at 224 million euros.
The most significant factor in the rise was the 145 million euro sale of armoured vehicles to Sweden. Without that deal, exports would have been worth 81 million euros, slightly below what was sold in 2013.
Deliveries of armoured vehicles to Poland as part of a long-term deal made that country the second largest customer for Finland's defense industries. A newcomer on the top-10 list was Brunei.
Civilian firearms and ammunition exports totaled 67 million euros last year. About 40% were exported to the United States.
Signs of the season
As the days become progressively shorter and the weather colder, the Kuopio-based newspaper Savon Sanomat has started its annual reader contest to guess when local lakes will freeze over.
Five lakes are listed in the online contest, and prizes are on offer for the most accurate predictions of when all five will be covered by ice.
Meanwhile, ten young women are in the running to be named as the 2014 Lucia maiden, a part of the Christmas tradition, especially within Finland's Swedish-speaking community.
The ten candidates, ranging in age from 17 to 23 are introduced to readers of Huvudstadsbladet in a video presentation that can be seen here.
