European Affairs

One part of the compact to which the Minister refers is the European defence-technological industrial base. Will he accept that our country has more defence exports and capability than other European nations and that we are therefore especially at risk of job losses if this goes wrong? Will he further accept that, on procurement, we should deal far more with those countries with which we operate militarily, which means overwhelmingly the United States, and not the nation states of the European Union? Will he therefore take a sceptical view of this element of the compact, which serves to do down job prospects in this country and our defence needs?