Written question asked by Gerald Howarth (Conservative) on Thursday, 2 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 25 January 2005. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 January 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he expects the UK contribution to the European Rapid Reaction Force to be Future Rapid Effect System equipped when that vehicle family enters service.

Answer: Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects the UK contribution to the European Rapid Reaction Force to be future rapid effect system equipped when that vehicle family enters service. [202986] Mr. Ingram: There is no standing European Rapid Reaction Force nor any EU agreement to create one. What has sometimes been referred to as a "European Rapid Reaction Force" is, in fact, a catalogue of forces which member states could make available to the EU should they choose to participate in a particular EU-led operation. Any contribution to a particular EU-led operation would depend on the operation's requirements and the availability of forces at the time. One of the purposes of FRES is to improve the ability of United Kingdom forces to achieve rapid effect by providing a highly capable but rapidly deployable family of vehicles as the central pillar of the Medium Weight Force. Therefore, it is likely that the UK may, in the future, offer FRES equipped forces as part of the EU "catalogue".

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 202986; 430 c242W
Session: 2004-05
Subjects: Deployment Armoured fighting vehicles EU countries Rapid reaction forces Future rapid effect system
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk