Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Support for NATO Allies: Ukraine

Monday 13 June 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government doubled presence in Estonia and reinforced battlegroup in the region
  • Deployed aviation taskforce to Lithuania and contributed to air policing over Romania and Bulgaria
  • Emphasized hitting 2% of GDP contribution to support NATO allies arguments

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tony Lloyd Lab
Ukraine Defence
Context

The context is the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on NATO allies. The question aims to understand specific actions taken by the UK government.

Question

What steps the Government are taking to support NATO allies in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Answer from Ben Wallace

We have doubled our presence in Estonia, reinforced the enhanced forward presence battlegroup, and deployed an aviation taskforce to Lithuania. We are contributing to enhanced air policing over Romania and Bulgaria, and enhanced vigilance activity in Cyprus, Poland and the Baltic states. We have deployed additional troops and capabilities to Poland, and led the development of joint expeditionary force activity options.

Answered
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Q2 Tony Lloyd Lab
Defence
Context

The context is a NATO summit where the UK's contributions are being discussed. The question focuses on maintaining or increasing the 2% of GDP defence spending commitment.

Question

One of the strengths the Secretary of State will have at the NATO summit is the fact that this country has done so much to support our NATO allies. His second great strength is that we hit the 2% of GDP contribution. That is important to empower those who argue with our NATO allies that they must hit the same figure. Earlier on, the Minister for the Armed Forces would not answer directly the question of whether we will maintain that 2% spending. Can the Secretary of State assure the House now that the 2% will be maintained or, preferably, increased?

Answer from Ben Wallace

The hon. Gentleman asks a straight question and I will give him a straight answer. Between now and the end of the comprehensive spending review period, we are at 2%—in fact, 2.3%—of GDP. However, inflation, GDP and growth shrinking off GDP will affect all those GDP pledges, which is why some countries in NATO have very high GDP spend, but also have a very small economy. Within the comprehensive spending review period, I am on track to be above 2%.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The impact of inflation and economic growth on maintaining the 2% commitment was discussed without committing to maintaining or increasing it beyond current projections.

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