The meeting focused on strengthening security in the Baltic Sea, the North Atlantic, and the Far North. According to Kallas, the past year signifies the importance of the JEF. “We and our allies must have equipped troops that are on high alert and have practiced working together in exercises as well. The leading role of the United Kingdom and its involvement in the military defence of the Baltic Sea are of key importance for Estonia,” said the prime minister.
Kallas pointed out that the NATO summit in Madrid led to an important change in thinking. After the summit, Estonia has taken strong steps to implement the agreed decisions. “I also call on other JEF partners to increase defence spending. In Estonia, defence costs will make up 2.85 percent of the GDP in 2023. The 2% defence investment guideline of NATO should become the minimum, not the maximum, of our ambitions,” she added.
“Russia has not given up its plan to conquer Ukraine, which means that military aid to Ukraine must increase. So far, Estonia has used almost a third of its defence budget to provide military aid to Ukraine. Helping them was and remains our priority,” the prime minister confirmed. The contribution of Estonia, including humanitarian aid, amounts to one percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on the allies to contribute equally and increase aid to Ukraine up to one percent of GDP.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, also participated in the meeting via video conferencing. JEF leaders welcomed his efforts to achieve a just peace and asserted that the peace talks cannot be taken seriously as long as Russia continues its war of aggression. The leaders called on Russia to end hostilities, withdraw its forces from Ukraine, abide by international law, and restore peace and security in Europe.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is an expeditionary force founded and led by the United Kingdom, which includes Estonia, the Netherlands, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark in addition to the United Kingdom. The coalition was founded in 2014 and Estonia joined it in 2018. The JEF plays an important role in the deterrence and defence stance of the Baltic Sea region, and the coalition complements NATO.
The JEF is ready to react quickly at sea, on land, and in the air. The JEF flagship exercise “JEF Warrior”, planned for 2023, aims to demonstrate the capacity of the JEF member states of operating in difficult circumstances in these three domains. In a crisis situation, the primary role of the JEF is rapid response and force transfer, which makes it important to enhance interoperability between the participating countries.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stenbockimaja/sets/72177720304554460/
