The two-day meeting of ten European countries was convened by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The president of the Republic Sauli Niinistö the Prime Minister will visit Britain Boris Johnson invitation. Niinistö will participate in the JEF General Assembly on Monday and Tuesday.
An important meeting for Finland
Director of the Foreign Policy Institute Mika Aaltola considers that the meeting is important for Finland now that Russia is currently attacking Ukraine.
Britain is a key NATO country and a nuclear-weapon state. According to Aaltola, Finland’s defense co-operation with Britain, which has seceded from the EU, is on a good footing. It has not suffered from Brexit.
– Especially in these conditions, we benefit a lot from Britain, Aaltola says.
In recent days, Finland has said that it is intensifying co-operation with both the United States and Sweden. According to Aaltola, there are no obstacles to strengthening relations in Britain either.
Johnson discusses separately with the leaders of Finland and Sweden
The British Prime Minister’s Office says that on Monday night, JEF leaders will gather for dinner at the Prime Minister’s Checkers mansion north-west London.
On Tuesday, participants will meet in London. On Tuesday afternoon, Boris Johnson will talk to Finnish and Swedish leaders at his official residence on Downing Street.
JEF cooperation does not rule out a NATO option
Aaltola considers JEF cooperation to be a flexible tool. According to Aaltola, intensifying defense training activities is important in order to create disincentives and understand common responsibilities.
– There are potentially strong enough forces in place for smaller military operations that also concern the territorial defense of this area. That goes to the heart of the matter.
The relationship between JEF’s defense co-operation and NATO and the reflection on Finland’s possible NATO membership is close.
– One can take a step towards steeling Western defense cooperation and then take a safe leap into NATO. The two options are not mutually exclusive, Aaltola says.
In any case, according to Aaltola, we have to think about the operational level, ie how things will be done in the Baltic Sea and the northern regions.