§ Mr. James Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much use is made by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries of the air base at Keflavik in Iceland; and for what purposes.
§ Lord BalnielI have been asked to reply.
The United States air base at Keflavik is a NATO facility and it is used by a number of NATO countries including the United Kingdom. The base is of major strategic importance in providing facilities for aircraft in transit and for surveillance.
§ Mr. James Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the relative importance of the Keflavik airbase, compared with other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation bases, for the security of the United Kingdom.
Lord Balniel: I have been asked to reply.
It is impracticable to make a relative assessment of this kind. Collective defence is the essence of the North Atlantic Alliance and the Keflavik base is of major importance to NATO collectively.