HC Deb 23 April 2001 vol 367 c89W
26. Mr. MacShane

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on defence co-operation with France. [156953]

Mr. Hoon

Co-operation between France and the UK on defence matters is very good. This is emphasised by important bilateral agreements, including navy to navy and army to army Letters of Intent (LOI); an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) covering the European Air Group; a LOI on co-operation in crisis management and operations; and a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement.

These agreements cover a wide range of activity and build on already close defence links and successful combined operations e.g. Bosnia, West Africa, Kosovo.

Other areas of co-operation include the Franco British Joint Commission on Peacekeeping, established in 1996; joint work to develop and better co-ordinate our activities in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.

New areas of co-operation that we are considering, as part of the UK's multinational defence co-operation initiative, include fuel supplies, medical issues, arms control and Combat Search and Rescue, and will further strengthen our bilateral relationship.