Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on participation in the European Defence Industrial Development Programme after the UK has left the EU and if he will make a Statement.

We are open to considering options and models for participation in the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) after we have left the EU, but any final decision shall form part of the wider withdrawal negotiations. We have also argued strongly during the current negotiations of the EDIDP draft Regulation that it should be open to third country industrial participation, and that it complements other cooperative programmes, including those developed through NATO.