THE UNITED Kingdom and France have signed a 50-year defence deal that will see the creation of a rapid reaction force, the joint use of aircraft carriers and nuclear missile co-operation.
The agreement reflects better relations between London and Paris, but just as significantly, growing pressure on both countries to cut military spending as they struggle with large budget deficits.
Heading off opposition from Conservative MPs – one of whom yesterday described the French as “duplicitous” – British prime minister David Cameron said both countries would be free to deploy military force independently. The co-operation would increase the UK’s sovereignty because “we can do more things alone as well as together”, he added.
Speaking alongside French president Nicholas Sarkozy, Mr Cameron said they had signed a “practical, hard-headed agreement” that would reduce development costs, eliminate duplication and bring the UK and France’s nuclear research programmes into closer harmony.
“It is the start of something new. The treaty is based on pragmatism, not just sentiment.”
Under the deal, 10,000 British and French soldiers, sailors and airmen will form a joint expeditionary force that will exercise together from 2011 under a single commander for peacekeeping, rescue or combat missions. Aircraft carriers will be shared, and British and French fighter jets will in time be able to land on vessels belonging to both navies.
From 2015 British and French nuclear research will be carried out at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, while warheads will be tested at the Valduc Centre for Nuclear Studies in France. Each country, though, will retain control over its own research and data.
The measure could save hundreds of millions of pounds in the coming decades, said Mr Cameron.
Maintenance for the UK’s upcoming Airbus A400M transport aircraft will be provided by France.
The agreement has raised concerns among some Conservatives, who argue that the agreement would jeopardise the UK’s ability to operate independently. They say it would be unable to send a naval force to protect the Falklands should Argentina invade, without the support of the French.
However, Mr Sarkozy sought to allay concerns. “If you, my British friends, have to face a major crisis, could you imagine France simply sitting there, its arms crossed, saying that it’s none of our business?”
“If you, my English friends, were confronted with a major crisis, would France stay in its own corner, wash its hands of the matter and consider that it has nothing to do with it?
“My first reaction would be to try to understand why such close allies are in such serious crisis, and how we could help them.
“That would take nothing from the fact that the British government’s decision is absolutely sovereign and the French government’s decision absolutely sovereign, but sovereignty does not mean isolation. When you’re isolated, you are no longer sovereign you are fragile,” he said.
The UK-French deal would be supported by the United States, said Mr Cameron.
“They want European countries like France and Britain to come together and share defence resources so actually we have greater capabilities.”