UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps met virtually with ministers from Joint Expeditionary Force and agreed to activate a JEF Response option.
~
Joint Statement, Whitehall, 28 November 2023: Defence Secretary Grant Shapps met virtually with ministers from Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and agreed to activate a JEF Response option.
Today, the Defence Ministers of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) agreed to activate a JEF Response Option. This includes Maritime and Air capabilities which will deploy across the JEF’s core region as a military contribution to the protection of critical undersea infrastructure. The activity will take place in early December and will ensure a security presence, strengthening our common efforts with NATO in the Baltic Sea region. The JEF is determined to enhance its preparedness in supporting the JEF Nations to protect their Critical National Infrastructure.
Throughout 2023, the JEF has developed a series of JEF Response Options, designed to deter, and defend our region from threats and establish how we can quickly respond to crises. This marks the first time a JEF Response Option has been activated. It provides a tangible demonstration of the JEF as a credible contributor to security in Northern Europe and a powerful message of our ability and commitment to bolstering the security of our critical undersea infrastructure and deterrence of hybrid threats. By co-operating through the JEF we are able to find collaborative solutions to common regional security challenges, in line with the JEF Vision published at the JEF Leaders’ Summit in Sweden on 13 October.
~
¤ Editor’s footnote: The UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force nations are currently Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
