§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the role of the Western European Union in relation to the future of European security arrangements.
§ Mr. HurdI attended together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence a ministerial meeting of the Western European Union to discuss this subject in Paris on 22 February. We issued a working paper, copies of which are being placed in the Library of the House.
The paper records agreement among WEU members on the continuing importance of NATO as the framework for the collective defence of all allies, and on the need to strengthen the WEU as the European pillar within the alliance, linked to the process of political union.
Differences remain on other issues. I made it plain that there was no case for the Twelve taking on a defence role, or for placing the WEU under the European Council. In order to be effective, the WEU should be moved to Brussels, and flexible arrangements should be made to associate all European allies who wish to do so with its work.