Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Kawczynski Excerpts

Monday 10th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

2. What contribution the Government are making to NATO’s reassurance measures in Estonia and Poland.

[Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)]

6. What contribution the Government are making to NATO’s reassurance measures in Estonia and Poland.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Sir Michael Fallon)]

The United Kingdom is supporting NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, which is designed to defend our allies and deter our adversaries. About 800 UK personnel based on armoured infantry form the core of our battlegroup in Estonia. In Poland, a British reconnaissance squadron is part of the US-led battlegroup. Both deployments are defensive but combat-capable.

[Sir Michael Fallon]

It is good that both Congress and, now, the President have committed themselves to article 5, the most important principle of NATO. In Washington on Friday, Secretary Mattis and I agreed to continue our work together to modernise NATO and give it more focus on counter-terrorism and hybrid warfare. As my hon. Friend has said, one of the reasons that our contribution to the enhanced Forward Presence is based in Estonia is indeed our good experience of working with Estonian forces in Helmand, Afghanistan.

[Daniel Kawczynski]

Joint military exercises in the Suwalki gap are obviously very welcome, as are rotational deployments of troops in Poland, but when will the United Kingdom use its senior position in NATO to press that organisation for a permanent NATO base in eastern Poland?

[Sir Michael Fallon]

Our defence relationship with Poland is close. Since the beginning of 2016 I have met Minister Macierewicz at least five times, and we aim to sign a defence treaty with Poland later this year. NATO, of course, already has a small permanent base in Poland, the Multinational Corps Northeast headquarters in Szczecin, to which the United Kingdom contributes personnel.