§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what projects, if any have been designated Co-operative Armaments Programmes under the Six-Nation Framework Agreement. [38991]
§ Dr. MoonieNone. Whilst the harmonisation of military requirements is a specific part of the Framework Agreement, the work in this area is designed to examine the scope for meeting military requirements jointly. The intention is that this work should act as a 1463W foundation for the establishment of potential cooperative armaments programmes, but it is too early to expect the Framework Agreement to have generated any such programmes at this stage of its implementation. However, it is also the intention that existing co-operative armaments programmes might benefit from work on the implementation of the Framework Agreement. An example of this is the proposed creation of a Global Export Licence to simplify the licensing process on co-operative programmes.