HC Deb 22 March 1978 vol 946 cc1492-3
7. Mr. Ron Thomas

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to meet the Foreign Ministers of the other NATO member countries.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Frank Judd)

My right hon. Friend expects to meet his NATO colleagues collectively at the NATO ministerial meetings in Washington on 30th and 31st May. He may also meet some of them individually on other occasions before that.

Mr. Thomas

When my right hon. Friend meets the Foreign Ministers of the other NATO countries, will he make it clear to them that Labour Party policy, which is supported by many Labour Members, is to reduce our defence expenditure in line with the average commitment of the other NATO countries, in proportion to our gross domestic product? Will he also bring to their attention the considerable balance of payments burden that this country now carries, due to overseas military commitments, especially in West Germany?

Mr. Judd

We have not lost sight of the commitment, in our election manifesto, to bring our defence burden closely into line with that of our main European allies. The defence budget for 1978–79, as announced in the Statement on the Defence Estimates, recently published, will be about 4¾ per cent. of our estimated gross domestic product compared with 5 per cent. for the current year, foreseen in last year's Statement. In the five years following 1972–73, defence spending fell in real terms by 4 per cent. while civil programmes increased by 6½ per cent.

Mr. Dykes

Does the hon. Gentleman hope for or expect a different attitude by the French towards NATO membership after the French General Election?

Mr. Judd

That is a matter for the French, but in terms of practical cooperation we always look to the most effective liaison with French forces that we can achieve.

Mr. James Lamond

Has my hon. Friend noticed from the figures in the defence White Paper that if our percentage of GNP spent on arms were reduced to the same average level as that of our allies, excluding the United States, we would be saving nearly £2,000 million a year which we are unnecessarily spending on defence now?

Mr. Judd

I repeat that our policy objective is to achieve a fairer distribution of the cost burden of the NATO Alliance as a whole between all members. That is a point that we frequently make to our colleagues within it.