Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Secretary of State for Defence approved the EU Security and Defence Implementation Plan at the European Council on 15 November 2016; and if so, in the light of the decision to leave the EU, what are their intentions with regard to further UK defence integration with the EU.

European Union (EU) Member States have agreed Council Conclusions on the EU Security and Defence Implementation Plan, which aims to improve the effectiveness of the Common Security and Defence Policy. The UK ensured that those Conclusions are in line with our key principles of coherence with NATO, which remains the cornerstone of European defence, and keeping the European defence industry and technological base open and globally competitive. The UK remains strongly committed to European security and will remain so after we leave the EU. Defining the specifics of the UK's future foreign, security, and defence policy relationship with the EU will be subject to negotiation.