On 14 November 1977, the Secretary-General of the Council of Western European Union (WEU) circulates a draft reply from the French delegation to Recommendation 297 on a European armaments policy. The French draft particularly emphasises the importance of maintaining an armaments industry, which provides many jobs and plays a vital role in common defence, but it notes that safeguarding this industry requires cooperation between European countries, as demonstrated by the Atlantic Alliance’s independent European Programme Group. The interoperability of equipment is essential for military effectiveness. However, general standardisation, which would result in a rationalisation of armaments production between Europe and the United States, would actually endanger the future of the European industries: if the Western armaments industries engage in open competition, it would jeopardise the European defence effort.