Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts to ensure that economic instability in parts of the Eurozone does not have a detrimental effect on the defence-industrial relationship between the UK and (a) Italy and (b) other EU member states.

The UK has a long tradition of collaborative working with European partners on joint defence programmes and maintains regular dialogue with European Union member states, including Italy, to discuss existing and future cooperative programmes. All EU nations are subject to EU procurement directives, which helps maintain a culture of open, transparent and fair competition on public procurement projects. Open competitive markets and more efficient cross-border cooperation are key methods of sustaining our defence industrial capabilities against a backdrop of wider economic instability.

The Ministry of Defence is the lead department for defence industrial relations and, as such, has engaged in detail on these specific areas. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon.Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge and I also regularly discuss defence industry matters with European partners, most recently at the May 2015 Foreign Affairs Council, as part of wider defence discussions held at the June 2015 European Council. Our aim is to encourage a globally competitive European defence industry that delivers the capabilities our armed forces need at best value for money, whilst responding to an increasingly diverse range of threats and supporting wider economic growth.