Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's priorities are for NATO's 2022 strategic concept.

At the June 2021 NATO Summit, leaders agreed to develop an updated Strategic Concept for the Alliance, to be endorsed at the 2022 Summit in Madrid. They agreed that the next Strategic Concept should refresh the Alliance's approach to its three core tasks of collective defence, crisis management and co-operative security. It should also consider the current strategic environment and guide the ongoing adaptation of the Alliance.

The last Strategic Concept was agreed in 2010, and is the product of a different global context. The next Strategic Concept needs to reflect the new reality of systemic competition, and its implications for the Euro-Atlantic area, as set out in the 2021 Integrated Review. (The Concept needs to ensure that the Alliance:

(i) stays strong and united, focused on keeping our people free and secure, and acting as a pillar for freedom, openness, and the rules-based international order;

(ii) continues its modernisation, with a focus on speedy adoption of advanced technologies;

(iii) strengthens its political and military tools, and better integrates its activity and capabilities;

(iv) continues to develop its resilience, including against hybrid threats;

(v) reinforces Allies' enduring commitment to invest 2% of GDP in defence. The UK has locked in a 0.5% above inflation increase to our defence budget and an additional investment of £16.5 million over the next four years).