At a joint meeting held on 16 April 1959, the Council of Western European Union (WEU) replies to questions from the WEU Assembly’s Committee on Defence Questions. The talks focus on the integration of European air defence within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the installation of IRBMs (intermediate-range ballistic missiles) in Europe and equipping NATO forces with missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. On the Assembly’s questions concerning the reorganisation of national defence in France, the Chairman of the Council, Maurice Couve de Murville, who is also French Foreign Minister, indicates that the Council considers these questions to be outside its remit, but in his capacity as French representative he has no objection to outlining the main features of the reorganisation of national defence in his country.