§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the integration of the frigate Somerset into a French-led naval group off Kosovo, with particular reference to the role of (i) the WEU, (ii) NATO and (iii) the St. Malo Accords in the formulation of this policy. [81045]
§ Mr. George RobertsonHMS Somerset has been attached to the French Task Group, led by the French aircraft carrier FOCH, since 14 February and is scheduled to revert to national tasking shortly. The integration of Somerset was at the invitation of the French authorities immediately following the St. Malo Summit. Initially scheduled as a training mission to the Indian Ocean, the Task Group was diverted for operations in the Adriatic following the deterioration of the situation in Kosovo. The integration is purely a bilateral arrangement between the UK and France and has no particular reference to WEU or NATO.
The concept of a combined deployment is very much in the spirit of closer military co-operation between the UK and France, reinforced by the signing of the Letter of Intent at the St. Malo Summit in December 1998. It also takes forward the navy-to-navy Letter of Intent signed in 1996, which tasked our two navies
to continue to investigate the possibilities for the attachment of units for extended periods".The integration is an excellent means to further strengthen our bilateral links and provides a practical dimension to the present debate on European security and defence.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the refugee camps built by British forces in Albania and the former Yugoslavia as a result of the current Kosovo crisis; and if he will make a statement. [80925]
§ Mr. George RobertsonBritish Forces have assisted in the construction of the Bojane camp 15 km west of the Macedonian capital Skopje and the refugee handling centre 10 km north of Skopje consisting of the Brazde, Stenkovac and Eurotrade sites.