Northwood Headquarters

Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the Northwood headquarters is in supporting (a) the EU Battle Group concept and (b) The Nordic Battle Group.

Mr. Bob Ainsworth
The UK permanent joint headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood is one of five national operational headquarters (OHQ) declared available for European Union military operations. The others are at Larissa (Greece), Potsdam (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Mont Valerien (Paris). In addition, access to NATO OHQ at SHAPE, Brussels, is assured for EU military operations.

PJHQ will provide the OHQ building and technical and administrative support, including trained core staff, for the Nordic Battle Group during its time as one of the two EU battle groups on standby between January and June 2008.