President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö participated by remote connection in a JEF leaders meeting on Friday afternoon, 25 February 2022. The meeting was arranged on the initiative of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson.
The meeting focused on European security and was attended by representatives from all ten countries involved in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defence cooperation. The meeting ended with the publication of a joint statement in which the leaders condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine in violation of international law and expressed strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In addition, the statement states that the JEF nations will continue a series of planned exercises in Northern Europe to develop their cooperation by land, sea and air even further.
Read the full statement on the UK Government website.
The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is a UK-led multilateral framework for defence cooperation formed by ten countries: in addition to the United Kingdom and Finland, the group includes the Netherlands, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia. The aim is to develop the military capabilities of the participating countries through joint exercises, prevent various crises and, if necessary, act together in crisis situations. JEF’s main operating environment is Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.