§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence further to his answer of 24 January 2000,Official Report, column 63W, on the European Peacekeeping Force, what is his policy on the level of capabilities the European Peacekeeping Corps should attain, in terms of (a) operational deployment range and (b) optimal UK commitment. [112387]
§ Mr. HoonAs explained in my answer of 24 January, there is no intention of creating a "European Peacekeeping Corps". At the Helsinki European Council EU states committed themselves to being able, by 2003, to deploy rapidly and sustain up to 50,000–60,000 troops capable of the full range of Petersberg tasks.
The operational range of these forces and the question of national contributions are being discussed as part of the follow-up work to Helsinki under the Portuguese Presidency. No decisions have yet been taken.