§ Sir Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he expects to take in order to implement the recommendations of the Solana paper adopted at the European Council of 12 December 2003; what changes he expects to make to the UK security posture; and if he will make a statement. [153327]
§ Mr. StrawThe Government expects initial implementation of the Strategy to concentrate on the four priority areas tasked by the European Council when it adopted the European Security Strategy at its December meeting: effective multilateralism with the UN at its core, the fight against terrorism, a strategy towards the region of the Middle East and a comprehensive policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Government are committed to the full implementation of the Strategy to help bring coherence and greater robustness to the EU's external policies.
The UK's security posture is already in line with the analysis behind the European Security Strategy. As outlined in the Strategic Defence Review New Chapter, we have already taken steps to ensure our forces are configured to respond to the new global threats of the post September 11th world by making our armed forces more flexible, with improved global reach. The UK has long argued for improved European defence capabilities, coherence in bringing together the EU's existing tools, both civilian and military, and a strong transatlantic link. The European Security Strategy sets out the framework to achieve this.
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