HC Deb 04 March 1997 vol 291 c590W
Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement describing the current restrictions on the participation of German military forces outside their own borders in consequence of post-war agreements. [18588]

Mr. Soames

Germany is not bound by any post-war treaty in this respect. The basic law lays down that the German armed forces may be used only for defensive purposes. The federal court ruled in July 1994 that this provision was no bar to the deployment of German forces outside Germany. The court did, however, require that any such deployment be approved by the Bundestag in each case. German forces are now deployed to Bosnia as part of NATO's security force.