§ 16. Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)What discussions he has had with the French Defence Minister about the European security and defence identity. [122655]
§ The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)We continue to make excellent progress on the European defence initiative, in the course of which my ministerial colleagues and I have had several discussions with the French Defence Minister.
§ Mr. BercowI am grateful to the Secretary of State for that reply, complacent though it was. Given that President Chirac, supported by the Germans, Italians, Portuguese and others, said as recently as 30 May that the development of an EU defence and foreign policy was fundamentally a "political project", and that the American ambassador to NATO has warned that the European 20 security and defence identity threatens to damage and rupture NATO, are Ministers just too dozy to perceive the threat that exists, or are they determined to hoodwink the rest of us into thinking that it does not exist?
§ Mr. HoonIt is because we do not see this as a political project that we have concentrated on the question of capabilities. Throughout all the agreements into which we have entered on behalf of the UK, we have emphasised the need to improve Europe's military capability. A number of UK Governments have sought to achieve that, and I am delighted to say that this Government are doing something about it. By improving Europe's military capability, we are not in any sense undermining or weakening NATO, but strengthening its capability. I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman might have been sufficiently awake to realise that.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich)If one is to fight successfully in any army, however, should one not be quite clear to whom one owes one's allegiance? Is it not therefore very worrying that the Government should be assuming that it will be possible to create a unified force without accepting the idea of political control over its objectives?
§ Mr. HoonMay I reassure my hon. Friend? None of our proposals contains the slightest suggestion that we are creating a unified force. The proposal that we are dealing with is no different from any of the multinational military organisations that have existed in the past and will continue to exist in future. In reality, each country will, rightly, remain responsible for its own forces, but those forces will operate together in multinational operations.