At a meeting of Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defence ministers yesterday, the decision was made to activate the Joint Response Option (JRO), under which participating countries will deploy part of their military capabilities to the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Danish straits in early December, to protect undersea infrastructure and strengthen deterrence in Northern Europe.
“With this decision, the crisis response capability of the Joint Expeditionary Force was activated for the first time. This is tangible proof of the readiness of the Joint Expeditionary Force to contribute to the security of Northern Europe. The Estonian Navy will contribute to the successful completion of this task,” said Susan Lilleväli, Undersecretary for Defence Readiness, who represented the Ministry of Defence at the meeting.
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom are each contributing to the Baltic Sea region with their various capabilities, which include patrol vessels, frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters, and minesweepers. The UK frigate HMS Richmond is providing force protection for Estonian and Finnish ships. The Estonian Navy is contributing two patrol vessels.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is supporting its Member States and NATO in their efforts to protect critical infrastructure.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is a United Kingdom-led coalition, which consists of Estonia, Holland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Areas of focus for the coalition are the Baltic Sea region, the High North, and the North Atlantic region. Upon activation of the Joint Expeditionary Force, Great Britain will provide the necessary command and control elements, which the Member States will supplement with their own capabilities.
Joint statement by the Joint Expeditionary Force Defence Ministers
Additional information: [email protected]