Prime Minister Evika Siliņa emphasised at the JEF Leaders’ Summit that the countries of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) need to further strengthen their cooperation in order to respond decisively to new hybrid attacks by Russia and Belarus, as well as to promote regional security and support Ukraine until its victory.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is a regional security cooperation format established at the initiative of Great Britain that brings together 10 northern European countries – Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
E. Siliņa emphasized that the security situation in the region is changing and faces new challenges. As an example, she mentioned the fact that critical energy and communication infrastructures are being attacked, the use of migrants to attempt to destabilise the situation at the external borders of the European Union, as well as the efforts to divide European countries and their societies.
“The Joint Expeditionary Force brings together like-minded countries that are able to jointly respond to these challenges. We need to strengthen our cooperation to resolutely counter hybrid threats. We also remain committed to continue supporting Ukraine until its victory. We have to make a joint commitment to further curb Russia, because it still poses the greatest threat to our regional security and stability,” stressed the Prime Minister.
The leaders of the JEF countries in their joint statement highlight that they strongly condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas against the Israeli people and recognise Israel’s right to defend itself. They also emphasise that Russia currently poses the most direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security. In their statement, the leaders underline that they remain firmly committed to support Ukraine and provide it with military, political, humanitarian, economic and all relevant support for as long as necessary. Ukraine’s victory is essential for the security of Europe and all JEF countries. The high officials have also undertaken to jointly strengthen common defence capabilities and address hybrid threats, including threats to critical energy and communication infrastructure.
