HC Deb 27 November 2000 vol 357 c632
17. Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold)

If he will make a statement on the programme of exchanges between British armed forces and those of other EU states. [138588]

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)

British armed forces carry out wide-ranging exchanges with the armed forces of other European Union states, as they do with other, non-European Union states. The exchanges are designed to be of mutual benefit to both parties.

Mr. Clifton-Brown

Given the Secretary of State's overwhelming enthusiasm for the European rapid reaction force, can he give us any good reason why the force catalogue is not to be published, so that we could see precisely what the other European nations are committing to the force?

Mr. Hoon

If the hon. Gentleman had stuck to his question and asked about bilateral exchanges, I would have been able to tell him that, even in the context of improving European capabilities, it is important that forces work together, regardless of whether those forces are in the European Union or in other European nations. When the forces are deployed together into crises, it helps that they have had previous experience of training and conducting exercises together and of developing the type of mutual understanding that is necessary. That is precisely why it is such a good thing that we have developed the headline goal and improvements in European capability.