Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the progress made by NATO since the 2010 Strategic Concept in (a) territorial defence, (b) crisis management and (c) co-operative security.

NATO has made significant progress on the 2010 Strategic Concept's core tasks, through the 2014 NATO Wales Summit Declaration and in subsequent actions.

The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 outlined that NATO remains at the heart of UK defence and security and Allies regularly reaffirm commitment to NATO's Article 5 in support of the Strategic Concept's Collective Defence. The implementation of Assurance Measures and the Readiness Action Plan agreed in Wales has delivered an effective and united response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and its actions in Eastern Ukraine.

NATO stands ready to employ an appropriate mix of robust political and military capabilities to address the spectrum of potential crises, before, during, and after conflicts in order to deliver Euro-Atlantic security. The Wales Summit tripled the size of NATO's enhanced response forces, meaning that the Alliance is better prepared and more capable to respond to all threats and challenges.

NATO is actively engaged in enhancing international security through partnerships with countries and international organisations; its support to counter-migration efforts in the Aegean is an example of close NATO-EU co-operation. Wales also included the unprecedented commitment by NATO Heads of State to halt the decline in defence expenditure.