Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement setting out details of the joint study with the Federal Republic of Germany on the binding of closer links in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance, including its cost, time span, number of officials and ministers likely to be involved; and whether it will include evaluation of non-proliferation measures.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMy right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, agreed with Dr. Scholz on 4 October that a joint study should be undertaken on British-German bilateral defence co-operation to consider practical ways in which our already close links can be further strengthened within the Alliance, and to examine the scope for increasing public awareness of them. Work at official level is well underway and my right hon. Friend expects to discuss the matter further with Dr. Scholz later this week. It is too early to say what the outcome of the study will be; however, it is not at present addressing non-proliferation measures, which are dealt with on a multilateral basis within the Alliance. The costs of the study will be minimal.