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NATO Summit

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement and I do not doubt that he and his Government will privately share with these Benches considerable disappointment at the outcome of the Riga summit. We remain grateful to our Armed Forces, who continue their superb efforts in Afghanistan. It is only unfortunate that, along with the Canadians, the Dutch and the Americans, they have shouldered virtually all the risks. This campaign is protecting the security of all member states, including those who deliberately choose to deploy their troops only in low-risk areas, jeopardising the success of the entire mission. In particular, the caveats imposed by the Governments of Germany, France, Spain and Italy are hampering NATO’s overall efforts. These nations’ troops have been acting in national interests as national armies rather than as part of a unified NATO force. While we welcome any shift towards more unequivocal support from our larger allies, does the Minister agree that these gestures do not go nearly far enough? These allies were part of a collective NATO decision and remain part of a NATO alliance. Their conduct should therefore be in NATO’s interests, not driven by external considerations. What attempts have the Government made to persuade their counterparts to fulfil the pledge to which they committed their countries? These nations have now said that they may send troops to troubled areas in an emergency. Should this not be the very least we expect from our military allies? How exactly would these Governments define an emergency? A partial solution has been possible on this occasion through the very welcome willingness of smaller nations such as Romania, Slovenia and Luxembourg to relax their caveats, but NATO forces will be required in Afghanistan for several years. Larger allies must be prepared to commit militarily and financially. What are the Government doing to address this long-term problem? There is no mention in the communiqué of NATO requiring its members to commit to a floor in defence spending of 2 per cent of GDP. Have the Government allowed this to be dropped? It has long been this Government’s policy that Serbia could join the Partnership for Peace only when Belgrade delivered the war crimes indictees Mladic and Karadjic to the International War Crimes Tribunal. Yesterday it was announced that, together with Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia would join the Partnership for Peace. What has precipitated this U-turn? What signal does it send to those who have shielded war criminals for the past10 years? According to a spokesman for the UN war crimes prosecutor, Carla del Ponte: "““The prosecutor regrets this decision because it looks like a reward for the lack of co-operation with the office of the prosecutor””." Does the Minister share this assessment? Where does this summit leave NATO? As NATO’s first external operation, Afghanistan was hailed as a demonstration of its ever extending global reach. Instead, it has revealed fundamental disparities in its members’ commitment and ideology. It has now become a clear display to the rest of the world of a lack of unity over NATO’s role, damaging its credibility. Statements of support mean very little if they are evidently not backed up by the deployment of forces. Will the Minister urge his Secretary of State to resolve the problem over the pay of Royal Marines serving in Afghanistan? The MoD has misled more than 4,000 marines over their pay levels, some of whom will receive more than £3,000 less than expected for a six-month tour. This will have a huge effect on the morale—especially in the run-up to Christmas—of personnel engaged in some of the most dangerous war fighting for years. Does the Minister agree that our troops deserve better than this?