Official press releases, news and speeches that the minister has held are located in this section. The Ministry of Defence publishes all of its press releases and news in Finnish and Swedish and many of them in English, too.
Press Releases
03.06.2024 15:22
JEF countries increase surveillance and presence in Northern European marine areas
The Joint Expeditionary force (JEF), led by the United Kingdom, will increase its presence in Northern European marine areas in June. All ten members of the JEF will participate.
Within the framework of Nordic Warden, the armed forces of the JEF countries practise the protection of underwater infrastructure and maritime transport while developing interoperability between the Allies. The Finnish Navy is preparing to send vessels to Finland's neighbouring areas.
- In the current security situation, it is essential that the JEF countries work and practise together demonstrating their preparedness, says Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.Nordic Warden will continue the enhanced monitoring of underwater infrastructure carried out by the JEF last December. - One of the JEF's strengths is its flexibility and rapid response capacity. We take serious-ly the protection of underwater critical infrastructure in Northern Europe, Häkkänen says.
The JEF is a group of ten North European allies, established as NATO's Framework Nation Concept in 2014.Its goal is to develop the participating countries' military capabilities, prevent various crises and, if necessary, act together in crises. In this way, it will also support the implementation of NATO’s deter-rence and defence. In addition to Finland, it includes the Netherlands, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia. The JEF's main operating environment is Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.
UK press release on the launch of NORDIC WARDEN.
Inquiries: Senior Specialist Markus Rahja, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 096.