The government opens the gate to NATO – under British leadership. March 2026
The government is seeking closer maritime co-operation with Britain and other NATO countries. The first National Maritime Security Strategy [1] outlines plans that defence minister McEntee said could entail seeking naval assistance from Britain and France during Ireland’s EU presidency that starts on July 1.
The strategy said Ireland would in the second quarter of this year “commence an agreement” with the NATO countries in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) [2] “to participate in appropriate activities”. McEntee said the scope would involve “looking at training, looking at how we can identify and manage specific and certain types of risks in our maritime domain . . . we are looking at ways in which we can co-operate more in these types of partnerships”.
The JEF was initially a British-only formation, conceived at a time when British forces were overstretched in Afghanistan and Iraq. The concept was first set out [3] in 2012 as a force “capable of projecting power with global effect and influence.”
And as a rapid response force distinct from NATO. It also includes NATO members Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Its activities are focused around the North Atlantic. For the moment, the government does not envisage joining the JEF itself, but rather participating in activities of the so-called JEF+, an enhanced partnership structure which enables ad hoc co-operation and is widely perceived as a gateway to NATO.
The JEF was an example of how NATO allies implemented the Framework Nations Concept [4] where groups of allies would work together under the leadership of a framework nation to develop rapidly deployable capabilities. In the case of the JEF, Britain provides the headquarters—known as the Standing Join Force Headquarters [5] —and the commander, plus the lead commando, airborne, armoured, aviation, air, and maritime task groups.
The national units involved are planned to be deployable in a range of combinations and capable of responding to a variety of contingencies. Once at least two member states agree to do something, JEF arrangements can be triggered; other countries can then decide whether to take part. For the units involved in the JEF, the group has become a vehicle to increase interoperability through an intensive program of exercises. The JEF also provides a framework for regular discussions of military issues among defense ministers, chiefs of defense staff, and heads of government.
The tight geographic focus of the group has allowed them to forge a closer network of relationships than would have been possible just under a pan-NATO umbrella. The ultimate vindication of this was the quick and smooth integration of former neutrals Sweden and Finland – who joined JEF in 2017 – into NATO after 2022. This was largely built on the work they had done with the other JEF members to develop common principles of operation and understanding in both the military and political spheres, a road that Ireland has already significantly progressed along.
Concurrently, the government is updating a memorandum of understanding with Britain ahead of a bilateral summit this month, which will focus on maritime security. It has also begun negotiations with France on enhanced co-operation and information sharing. The government is also purchasing sonar and radar, due for delivery next year though anti-drone capabilities are expected to be in place for the EU presidency. Ireland will also host a summit of the 47-member European Political Community, including Ukraine, during the period of its EU Presidency.
None of these moves have been approved by the electorate. On the contrary, popular support for neutrality stood at seventy percent in a recent Sindo poll. Even by the standards of Micheál Martin’s recent definition of ‘military neutrality’ in reply to Mairead Farrell TD, this can only be consided a betrayal of the trust of the electorate, especially when taken in the context of the planned abandonment of the Triple Lock.
- https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-defence/publications/national-maritime-security-strategy-20262030/
- https://jefnations.org/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chief-of-the-defence-staff-general-sir-david-richards-speech-to-the-royal-united-services-institute-rusi-17-december-2012
- https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/official-texts-and-resources/official-texts/2014/09/05/wales-summit-declaration
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_Joint_Force_Headquarters