Current Developments in
European Defence Policy
report
1. In this Report we make available, for the
information of the House, the oral evidence given to the EU Sub-Committee
C (Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development Policy) by Mr Andrew
Mathewson, Director for Policy on International Organisations,
Professor Phil Sutton, Director, General Research and Technology
and Captain Richard Stokes, Assistant Director, Defence Equipment
Plan, Ministry of Defence, on 29 November 2007; and correspondence
from the Ministry of Defence.
2. Key topics in the evidence are:
- Deployment and deployability of
Battlegroups (QQ 3-8, 36, 53, 55-59, p 16);
- The Nordic Battlegroup (QQ 8, 57, 58);
- The UK's state of readiness (QQ 3, 12, 13);
- Problems of force generation with particular
reference to missions in Africa (QQ 5, 54, 55, 68, 69, 74,
75);
- Availability of helicopters—in-house capability
and the airlift market (QQ 9, 10, 59-62);
- Availability of helicopters and the effects on
aid delivery (QQ 43, 44, 49-52);
- The Strategic Airlift Interim Solution Consortium
and the C17 initiative (QQ 9, 58);
- Purchase of A400M by EU Member States and pooling
resources with EU partners (QQ 14-16, 29, 30, p 18);
- The European Defence Agency (EDA) budget and
different attitudes to spending (QQ 18, 23, 28, 29);
- The EDA's role in the development of capability
versus its role as an agent of industrial policy (QQ 24,
31-33);
- The UK's attitude to Research and Technology
(QQ 26, 27, 63-67);
- The EDA's role in force protection (QQ 33-35,
38, 39);
- Communications and information systems (QQ 37,
38);
- Avoidance of duplication (QQ 45-48);
- The extent of UK engagement in EDA projects (QQ 38-42,
p 17);
- Rapid reaction capability and matching force
generation to political commitment (QQ 53-56, 69);
- Medical facilities for missions (QQ 68,
70, 71, p 17);
- The proposed EU police mission for Kosovo (QQ 71-73).
|
