Denmark joins a new international high-readiness force

Minister of Defence Peter Christensen said:

“We are facing a rapidly changing security policy reality. The threat from terrorism, the refugee influx, and the activities of Russia in the East are only a few examples of this. For Denmark’s part, we are serious about our responsibility with respect to being able to meet this new reality. Therefore, I shall be signing a memorandum of understanding today in London regarding the development of a joint services high-readiness force led by the UK. We intend to be prepared for rapid deployment to whichever crises and conflicts that may arise around the world.”

The cooperation is called the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). In addition to Denmark, it includes Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The purpose of the joint cooperation is that the high-readiness force – or parts of it – can be rapidly deployed in the event of an arising crisis or conflict situation. The high-readiness force must be able to handle a wide range of operations, from evacuation efforts to humanitarian crises, capacity-building, and regular combat actions. The framework for this can be NATO, but also the UN, among others.

The continuing defence policy cooperation in the framework of the JEF will ensure a flexible coordination preceding any deployment. In addition to this, joint training and exercises between the participating nations are to secure that their forces are in the habit of cooperating. The JEF cooperation supports the maintenance of Denmark’s high operational level, and is a further development of the close operational cooperation with the British defence.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

“We are stronger together and have agreed to attach forces to the JEF when the time is right. The force will allow the UK and our allies to share knowledge, skills and resources, and will mean we can deliver a rapidly deployable, flexible and integrated joint force.”