USA: NATO
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has held discussions with his United States counterpart regarding the withdrawal of US service personnel from NATO countries.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
We welcome the US briefing, which provides clarity for Allies to plan as we move towards greater European burden sharing, with Europeans taking on more responsibility for European defence. The US continues to play a significant role in the Alliance's collective deterrence and defence.
NATO continuously assesses the forces required to deliver its defence plans, with European and Canadian Allies making substantial increases to their defence capabilities and spending in recent years. The Government has full confidence in NATO's ability to deter and defend against any threat.
The UK is a fully committed Ally, offering almost all its Armed Forces to NATO, including key high-end capabilities across all domains, and we continue to review and strengthen our contribution. Right now, our Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the North Atlantic and High North, working alongside NATO Allies to deter Russian aggression.
We are working closely with the US to ensure all Allies contribute fairly through NATO force sourcing processes and remain committed to strengthening the Alliance by ensuring Europe is more capable, more resilient, and better able to shoulder our shared security burdens.
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