Defence ministers statement JEF Bodø

Five months after the JEF Leaders met in Oslo in May, the JEF defence ministers met to follow up on the deliverables set by the JEF Leaders. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to European security and stability, our strengthened support to Ukraine and our continuous effort to understand and respond to regional security challenges together.

Following the JEF Leaders deliverable to invite Ukraine to form an 'Enhanced Partnership' with the JEF, the Ukrainian Minister of Defence was invited to take part in the meeting. As we seek a deepening of the relationship between the JEF and Ukraine, we believe it is important to keep an open dialogue with the Ukraine on how this is further operationalised.

As part of the meeting, the JEF Participant Nations signed an updated CMOU which reflected the shift in JEF following accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO. All JEF Participant Nations are now part of NATO, further strengthening the JEFs supporting role to NATO The MOU also sets out the scope for entering into "Enhanced Partnerships" between the JEF and other nations.

Today, was also the first ever meeting of the JEF Defence Ministers to be held within the Arctic Circle, signalling the commitment of the JEF Participant Nations to security in the High North. The Baltic Sea region, the High North and the North Atlantic is our core, interlinked, geostrategic area of concern and mutual interest within the JEF.

The JEF nations are committed to contributing to credible deterrence in peacetime, and to reacting quickly and flexibly in close coordination with NATO in a crisis situation, especially situations of security concern short of, and in the lead up to Article 5.

In an increasingly unpredictable and contested security environment, the JEF will continue to develop as a flexible and credible tool for dialogue, deterrence and defence in Northern Europe. We are determined to strengthen our cooperation, and demonstrate our contribution to Euro-Atlantic security and transatlantic burden sharing.