Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his European counterpart on the post of EU Operation Commander; and whether the UK plans to retain that post after the UK leaves the EU.

On 6 March 2017, at the Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), EU Member States agreed to establish the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) for non-executive military missions only. The MPCC will be part of the existing EU Military Staff and its current Director General will also be the Director of the MPCC - there is no such post as EU Operations Commander in Brussels, these roles exist only in the field leading individual operations and missions. The UK has ensured that the MPCC to be set up is limited in size and scope, avoiding duplication with NATO and minimising costs. It will be for the remaining EU Member States to decide how the capability continues after we leave the EU.