Minister of Defence Kaikkonen to attend defence minister meeting of EI2 countries

On 24 September 2021, Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will attend a defence minister meeting of the European Intervention Initiative (EI2) countries. The meeting will be held in Sweden.
The Ministers will discuss topical international security and defence matters as well as the achievements and future development of the EI2 initiative.
Besides Finland, the participating countries include Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Finland became a member of the European Intervention Initiative in 2018. The purpose of the EI2 is to develop European strategic culture and the relations between defence administrations, to support the creation of a common situation picture and the capacity for prediction and sharing of information, and to develop Europe’s readiness on the politico-strategic level in order to respond to the crises and security challenges facing it.
On 25 September 2021, Minister of Defence Kaikkonen will learn about the Joint Protector 21 command-post exercise in Älvdalen, Sweden. The exercise is part of the multilateral military JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force) defence cooperation framework, in which Finland participates. The framework is led by the United Kingdom. The purpose of JEF cooperation is to develop the military readiness of the participating countries, to prevent different types of crises, and if necessary, to work together in crisis situations.
Inquiries: Samuli Puhakka, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 140 089. Kristian Vakkuri, Head of Communications, tel. +358 295 140 123.

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