§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the UK contribution to the proposed NATO rapid deployment force unit will be; and if he will make a statement. [77811]
§ Mr. HoonThe NATO Response Force (NRF) concept is currently being discussed within the Alliance, with the guiding principles expected to he put before Heads of State and Government at the November 2002 NATO Summit in Prague for their agreement. While it is premature to discuss what the United Kingdom's precise contribution will be, the UK strongly supports the NRF concept as a means of optimising the utility of the NATO Force Structure across the range of missions. We can therefore anticipate that the UK led Headquarters of the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps, the United Kingdom Maritime Force and our contribution to NATO Readiness Forces (Air), will form the basis of our participation in the NRF.