HC Deb 01 March 2004 vol 418 c612
16. Roger Casale (Wimbledon) (Lab)

If he will make a statement on measures to improve defence capabilities of EU member states. [156744]

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

The European Union is working on a number of programmes to improve the defence capabilities of member states. These include the European capability action plan, the establishment of a European defence capabilities agency, the development of European rapid response capability including the battlegroups concept and the drafting of a new headline goal. We fully support all these initiatives.

Roger Casale

I am chairman of the all-party British-Italian parliamentary group, which, along with other hon. Members, has sought to encourage the commitment of successive Italian Governments to standing alongside British troops in peacekeeping missions in areas as diverse as the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, where losses of troops and police have been sustained. It is clearly in the national interest to build bilateral and multilateral defence co-operation in Europe. Will my right hon. Friend take every possible step to encourage other European countries to increase their spending on defence and their defence capabilities to allow them to work with us on the most important peacekeeping missions?

Mr. Hoon

I am grateful for my hon. Friend's observations. The British Government's policy is to ensure that we encourage other countries to develop their military capabilities not only in our bilateral relationships but in our multilateral relationships, which not only benefits autonomous EU operations but is a crucial contribution that European nations can make to NATO.