Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK's future involvement in the EU's foreign security and defence missions.
Answered on
2 February 2017
The UK is one of Europe's biggest military powers: we make a significant contribution to Common Security and Defence Policy SDP military operations and civilian missions; we are committed to spending 2 per cent of our GDP on Defence, with 20 per cent of that on upgrading major equipment; and we spend a further 0.7 per cent of our GNI on international development. In addition, our diplomatic, security, and intelligence services are world class, and, as a nuclear power, and one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, we have major global reach and influence.
The nature of our future relationship with the EU on foreign, security, and Defence issues remains under consideration. We are, however, clear that we will continue to play a leading role in European and wider global security, and wish to continue to cooperate with European partners to tackle shared challenges.