§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which provisions of the Nice Treaty indicate that NATO is the option of first resort for all types of crisis management. [143428]
§ Mr. VazThe Presidency Report on the European Security and Defence Policy, adopted by the Nice European Council, confirms (paragraph 2 of the report itself) that the EU's aim is to be able to take decisions and, where NATO as a whole is not engaged, to launch and conduct EU-led military operations in response to international crises. It also confirms that NATO remains the basis of the collective defence of its members and will continue to play an important role in crisis management.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which NATO countries have not agreed on the circumstances in which the EU may act in an emerging crisis [143427]
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§ Mr. VazEU governments have repeatedly stated that the goal of the European defence initiative is to be able to take decisions and, where NATO as a whole is not engaged, to launch and conduct EU-led military operations in response to international crises. At its Washington Summit, NATO confirmed that it stood ready to adopt arrangements for NATO support to EU operations
in operations in which the Alliance as a whole is not militarily engaged as an Alliance".At their meeting on 14–15 December, NATO Foreign Ministers endorsed this position. Work in the EU and NATO will proceed on this basis.