Photo. United Kingdom MoD
Within the framework of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), the United Kingdom will offer Finland and other member states of the group military protection through the use of nuclear weapons.
The UK has offered a “nuclear umbrella” to the members of the JEF, which include Nordic nations, Baltic states, and the Netherlands. According to the YLE portal, the offer was confirmed during General Sir Gwyn Jenkins’ visit to Finland on Monday, where he met with Member of Parliament Heikki Autto, Chair of the Parliament’s Defence Committee.
“Their naval commander has highlighted Britain’s strong commitment to JEF cooperation, and through that, these new opportunities have also been created,” Autto told the Finnish news agency STT, commenting on his meeting with the general.
“Finland will be under the nuclear umbrella, and this will be guaranteed by the submarines currently patrolling the Atlantic,” Jenkins confirmed. An agreement on the creation of a new type of combat force within the JEF is planned to be signed in November. The new group will have wartime defence plans and is expected to be able to engage in combat immediately in the event of a threat from Russia.
In the Finnish context, this issue is particularly interesting because Helsinki has already announced its eagerness to join the French nuclear initiative, Forward Deterrence, which we’ve already covered on Defence24. This shows how seriously Finland currently views the issue of hard security by engaging in various formats.
The JEF was established in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Finland and Sweden joined this format in 2017, prior to their accession to NATO. Today, the Joint Expeditionary Force is seen as a first-response force that complements NATO.