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Joint Expeditionary Force

Asked by Luke AkehurstLabourMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 10 June 2026UIN 5667

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of an expanded role for the Joint Expeditionary Force in European security over the coming years.

Answered by Al Carns

The Joint Expeditionary Force strengthens NATO by operating actively, routinely, and rapidly in the Northern hemisphere.

As the threat to Europe grows more acute, JEF activity has grown in scale and ambition. Ex TARASSIS, the JEF’s flagship 2025 exercise, was the largest in its history. Ex LION PROTECTOR this year is planned to be more ambitious still.

While the JEF is an open and accessible framework which welcomes collaboration with non-members, it has a bounded area of strategic interest focused on the North Atlantic, Baltic, and High North and Arctic. NATO remains the cornerstone of European security writ large and the JEF remains complementary by design.

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