Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Julian Brazier and Daniel Zeichner(8 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
2. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of UK withdrawal from the EU on defence and national security.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Julian Brazier)
This Government believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the European Union. The cornerstone of our security, however, is NATO, while the EU plays a significant role in complementing NATO—for example, in imposing sanctions on Russia. Defence remains a sovereign issue.
Daniel Zeichner
The Prime Minister recently told us that he was
“in no doubt that for Britain the European question is not just a matter of economic security, but of national security too”.
Was he right or wrong?
Mr Brazier
The Prime Minister was quite right that our relationship with our European partners plays a very important role in defence.