David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy have hailed the strong ties between the UK and France after agreeing to work more closely on military operations and civil nuclear power.

Their relationship has come under scrutiny after the UK refused to join a European fiscal pact.

But Mr Cameron said they had an "incredibly strong relationship based on shared interests".

Mr Sarkozy said there had "never been personal opposition" between them.

Among the agreements reached at a summit in Paris was a commitment to speed up creation of a joint control and command centre for military operations.

Mr Cameron said the deal was "a real breakthrough" which would "make a big difference to the military capabilities of both Britain and France".

They also agreed to push ahead with the next phase of plans to build a new generation of an unmanned 'fighter drone' aircraft.

And they signed up to a strengthening of co-operation over civil nuclear energy, which the UK government says will create a number of commercial deals worth more than £500m and creating 1,500 UK jobs.
'Bump and bounce'

The plans for closer military co-operation come after the UK and France worked together over the crisis in Libya last year.

Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy led the effort to protect Libyan civilians under threat from former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, but they have disagreed in recent weeks over how to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

In December, the UK prime minister blocked the idea of changes to EU treaties to bring about closer fiscal integration within the eurozone, saying the move was not in Britain's interests.

But speaking at a joint press conference following the talks in Paris, Mr Cameron said their relationship was "easily strong enough to survive the odd bump and bounce when we have a disagreement", adding: "That's what politicians do. That's what friends do."

He said the UK and France were closer now than at any time since World War II.

Mr Sarkozy heaped praise on Mr Cameron for his role in Libya, calling him "a very brave man", and added: "Perhaps, had I been in David Cameron's position, I would have defended British interests in exactly the same manner he has."
Research and development

The two governments will work together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "to strengthen international capability to react to nuclear emergencies and establish a joint framework for cooperation and exchanging good practice on civil nuclear security".

The move comes 11 months after a tsunami in Japan wrecked the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leaking radioactive material into the air and sea.

UK and French public and private sector bodies in the civil nuclear power industry will also work more closely in a number of areas, including education and training, research and development, and security.

Ahead of the summit, a statement from Downing Street said: "This joint declaration will signal our shared commitment to the future of civil nuclear power, setting out a shared long term vision of safe, secure, sustainable and affordable energy, that supports growth and helps to deliver our emission reductions targets."

Last June, UK ministers announced plans for the next generation of UK nuclear plants, confirming a list of eight sites it deems suitable for new power stations by 2025, all of which are adjacent to existing facilities.

The sites are: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa, Anglesey.

Rolls-Royce is expected to win a £400m ($632m) share in the building of the first of the power plants and plans to build a factory in Rotherham to meet orders resulting from the deal.

France's Areva will supply the core of the nuclear reactors and Rolls-Royce will supply other engineering work.

"Rolls-Royce will become our prime manufacturing partner to supply some £100m of key critical components of the reactor for each EPR [next generation nuclear power plant] that's constructed in the UK," said Robert Davies from Areva UK.