Stubb, Jetten for strengthening role of Europe in NATO

President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten on Wednesday met in Helsinki and discussed various bilateral and international issues including Middle situation, European security, NATO and Ukraine.

“Tomorrow, I will host the JEF Leaders’ Summit in Helsinki. I was pleased to meet with the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten, on the eve of his first JEF Summit. We held a bilateral discussion on topical foreign and security policy issues,” Stubb wrote in a post on his social media platform X after the meeting.

He said it is crucial that Finland maintains close contacts with like-minded partners and allies, such as the Netherlands.

“The visit confirmed the remarkable potential for cooperation our countries share, for instance in the field of comprehensive security,” the President added.

Pointing out the excellent bilateral relations between Finland and The Netherlands, Jetten said that the countries have similar views in areas such as European security, the rule of law and human rights.

“Ahead of the summit, I met with President Alexander Stubb of Finland this ( Wednesday) evening. The Netherlands and Finland have excellent relations and are like-minded countries in areas such as European security, the rule of law and human rights,” Jetten wrote in a post on his X after the meeting.

“We discussed the vital support for Ukraine, strengthening Europe’s role in NATO, and our concerns regarding developments in the Middle East,” he added.

Stubb will host the summit at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki on Thursday.

The summit will be attended by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Siliņa, Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrún Frostadóttir and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten.

The discussions at the Presidential Palace will be held in three sessions, focusing among other things on the support provided by the JEF nations to Ukraine and on the general security situation in Europe.

During the day, the heads of state and government of the JEF countries will visit a Finnish Border Guard offshore patrol vessel for a briefing on the Border Guard’s maritime operations.

The vessel can be used year-round and in all conditions in the Baltic Sea for maintenance of border security, search and rescue operations, oil-spill response at sea and surveillance of territorial waters.

The JEF is a multilateral framework for defence cooperation led by the United Kingdom.

The objective is to develop the military capabilities of the participating countries through joint exercises, to prevent crises and, if necessary, to operate together in crisis situations.

JEF’s main operating environment is Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.