George spoke in the wake of the recent collaboration between the British and French military in Mali over the weekend, which saw the deployment of Two RAF C17 cargo planes to help French military efforts against Islamist rebels in the town of Konna.
During Oral Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence, George asked:
"What recent progress has been made to improve the interoperability of UK and French expeditionary forces" and what is being done in the light of recent events “to improve co-operation specifically on the sharing and deployment of military equipment?”
The Minister for the Armed Forces, Mr Andrew Robathan, replied that “interoperability with France continues to improve” and that just two weeks ago “a Royal Navy helicopter operating from a French frigate as a part of Operation Atalanta played a significant role in the arrest of 12 Somali pirates.” He also talked of a combined joint expeditionary force, the CEJF, which is “planned to reach full operating capability in 2016” and that in the long term “we are taking forward a comprehensive portfolio of co-operation on equipment and capabilities”.
For a full record of the debate, please click here.