» Friday, June 6, 2008Miscellaneous
Asked for the Prime Minister’s thoughts on reports about a renewed drive for a European army, the PMS said that the Prime Minister did not think there would be a European army. It was the UK Government’s position that NATO remained the cornerstone of European defence and this was explicitly spelt out in the Lisbon Treaty. European Defence policy was for EU member states alone, acting by unanimity; individual members of the European Parliament were free to make whatever proposals they wished, but even if the whole European Parliament were to sign up, it was important to remember that the European Parliament had no role in policy making in this area. Asked if the Prime Minister had any plans to meet with John Major as he had done with past Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, the PMS said that he was not aware of any recent contact but that the Prime Minister had respect for the work that John Major had done as Prime Minister on Northern Ireland. Asked if the money made available for free swimming today was just for the over 60s and asked if the commitment to provide universal free swimming by 2012 would be met, the PMS said it was best to check with the relevant department for specifics. The commitment to universal swimming by 2012 would be beyond the current spending settlement, so would be an issue for the next spending round. Briefing took place at 11:00 | Search for related news Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says. |
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