Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Defence

I have even less time than the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox). We have had an excellent, wide-ranging debate that, understandably, had an emphasis on Afghanistan. I should like to follow that pattern, but first I want to pay tribute to all those, including those from our armed forces, who have been helping to rescue people from the floods in Cumbria. In particular, I want to pay tribute to the Sea King helicopter crews and the military mountain rescue teams who have worked tirelessly to get many people to safety. Protecting our citizens at home is a core part of the work of our armed forces, and we should never take that for granted, even when there are considerable pressures elsewhere. I hope that right hon. and hon. Members will forgive me if I now confine my remarks to defence business, and mainly to Afghanistan. At the outset, however, I want to make a quick reference to Europe, as it relates to defence. In the world today, no nation—not even the United States—can hope to protect its national security or promote its national interests on its own. Of any single country in existence today, however, the United States has the greatest capacity to project power, and that is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future. It is the key element in NATO's effectiveness as a vehicle for deploying military force, and the key reason why NATO is and will remain the bedrock of UK defence. The European Union has in recent years developed the ability to deploy military force, specifically to complement its civilian capability and its economic influence in managing crises such as those in the Balkans and Africa. When looking for partners for operations of that nature, and in consultation with NATO, the EU has great potential to be a force for good in the world. I welcome and encourage the efforts of the EU member states to improve their capacities, not least because, for 21 of them, those capacities will also be available to the alliance. Let us be clear, however: each European nation has national armed forces. There is no prospect of a European army, and each nation will continue to decide on the deployment of its national forces—just as they do in NATO. However, we must have a rational debate in the UK about closer European military co-operation, common procurement and interoperability. The European Defence Agency is designed to promote that closer military co-operation and common procurement as a key part of the European security and defence policy—the ESDP. The recent developments on the European helicopter initiative are extremely promising. It is a multilateral initiative that includes pilot training sponsored by the European Defence Agency, and with good co-ordination between NATO and the EU. On this side of the House, we are committed to military co-operation in Europe. The Foreign Secretary has referred to the policies of the Conservative party. Is pulling out of the ESDP, the European Defence Agency and the helicopter initiative part of their agenda for isolation and marginalisation in Europe?