§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects that the EU will be able to deploy forces of Corps level under the provisions of the European Security and Defence Pact. [125608]
§ Mr. HoonThere is no "European Security and Defence Pact". Responding to the Headline Goal established under the European Security and Defence Policy, European Union member states have together already offered to make available for ESDP operations forces of greater than corps size. The General Affairs and External Relations Council in May agreed that the EU now has operational capability across the full range of Petersberg tasks, albeit limited and constrained by recognised shortfalls, which particularly affect speed of deployment and level of risk for larger, higher-intensity tasks. The number of forces which could be deployed for any particular ESDP operation would depend on the operational scenario and what member states and other countries decided to contribute.