§ 16. Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress towards the Headline Goal on European Defence. [156943]
§ Mr. HoonThe UK and France announced at Cahors in February the proposal to hold a second EU Capabilities Conference in the autumn. At this Conference, EU member states will identify and commit to the improvements needed to achieve the level of capability set out in the Headline Goal.
§ 30. Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the French Defence Minister to discuss UK and French contributions to European Security and Defence Policy. [156957]
§ 36. Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the French Defence Minister to discuss the European Security and Defence Policy. [156963]
§ 38. Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received concerning the European Security and Defence Policy. [156965]
§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the European Security and Defence Policy. [156928]
§ Mr. HoonI refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) and for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) on 23 April 2001,Official Report, column 12.
§ 31. Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the NATO Secretary General to discuss European Security and Defence Policy. [156958]
§ Mr. HoonI last discussed European Security and Defence Policy with Lord Robertson at the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers session on 5-6 December 2000.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will define the phrase "pursuit of efforts" used in the presidency report of the European Security and Defence Policy at Nice, in the area of(a) command and control, (b) intelligence and (c) strategic lift under section I(i); and if he will make a statement. [158309]
§ Mr. HoonEuropean Security and Defence Policy is about improving European military capability. The European Council at Helsinki decided to develop collective capability goals in the fields of command and control, intelligence and strategic transport. As with the Headline Goal, the European Council at Nice noted efforts made by member states to define and achieve these goals. Member states committed themselves to pursuing efforts to develop and improve these capabilities. They also agreed to take steps to ensure the coherent development of EU and NATO capabilities where they overlap.
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§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of the Reserve Forces in the context of the European Security and Defence Policy commitments. [158316]
§ Mr. HoonUK participation in any particular operation, and the nature of our contribution (including any potential use of the Reserve Forces), would be matters for decision by the UK Government in the light of circumstances at the time.
Our aim in restructuring the Reserve Forces, particularly for the Territorial Army, was to make it more integrated with regular forces and defence plans, with a shift in emphasis away from traditional home defence roles, to others such as signallers, artillery, air defence, logisticians and particularly medical services.
The number deployed with regulars would depend on the nature and scale of the operation.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the costs of upgrading EU armed forces to comply with the strategic capability requirements as identified in the Presidency report on the European Security and Defence Policy. [158315]
§ Mr. HoonThe EU has set itself a target for military capability improvements under the Headline Goal. Commitments by individual nations to meet the targets that they have signed up to are a matter for those nations, as are the ways by which these are achieved.
Many European nations are undertaking restructuring programmes and defence reviews. Defence reviews help to identify the areas where re-prioritisation of defence spending can bring about more effective defence outputs. Improvement in capabilities is not just about spending more money, but spending more effectively.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will define peacemaking as established under the actions of the European Security and Defence Policy; and if he will make a statement. [158308]
§ Mr. HoonThe establishing of conditions for negotiating peace through the disengagement of the warring parties and their withdrawal from a demilitarised zone has been endorsed by EU Ministers as suitable for an EU led force. In this, as in other scenarios, it is assumed that the EU would be acting militarily in accordance with the UN Charter.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on changes to(a) his Department's and (b) NATO's practice in the context of the transparency of comparison of Governments identified in the Appendix to Annexe 1 of the Nice Presidency Guidelines on the European Security and Defence Policy. [158317]
§ Mr. HoonTransparency is necessary to stimulate capability improvement among EU member states, and to ensure coherence with NATO defence planning and Partnership for Peace (PfP) Planning and Review Process (PARP).
There have been no significant changes in departmental practice to ensure transparency as identified in Annexe 1 of the Nice Presidency Report on the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).