FRANCE
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force with France; what plans that body has made for its future; and if he will make a statement. [177900]
Dr Murrison, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for International Security Strategy: We continue to make good progress towards our objective of creating a capability able to undertake co-ordinated and coherent expeditionary operations with France through a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) consisting of national force elements operating side by side with the ability to respond to a wide range of scenarios.