On 16 September 1963, the Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) circulates the amendments proposed by the United Kingdom delegation to the draft reply by the Council to Recommendation 93 (WPM(335)). The British delegation suggests removing the section that refers to the importance placed by the Council on the entry into force of the Convention and simplifying but preserving the substance of the paragraph proposed by France. Moreover, the British believe that the fact that the provisions of the revised Brussels Treaty do not apply equally to each Member State cannot be described as discrimination since the treaty should be considered as a balanced whole with regard to national interests.
On 21 April 1961, a memorandum drafted by the United Kingdom delegation comments on the contribution of French representative Jean Chauvel to the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Western European Union on 15 February 1961 concerning Article III of Protocol III of the modified Brussels Treaty on controls of nuclear weapons stocks. The British hold the view that the Council has the authority to determine the nuclear weapons stocks that Member States can hold on the European mainland only once the production phase has been launched. This decision will be applicable both to weapons manufactured on the European continent and to those from other places. Consequently, it is not the Council’s role to check, via the intermediary of the Agency for the Control of Armaments (ACA), that stocks, whether or not they come under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), do not exceed the set limits. Moreover, Article IV of the modified Brussels Treaty should be seen as a complement to the North Atlantic Treaty and there are no plans to transfer military powers belonging to NATO to WEU. Since WEU has not yet exercised its powers in the area of nuclear weapons stocks, it cannot be said to have failed in its task or in the missions conferred on it.
On 22 June 1962, a note sent to the Director of the Agency for the Control of Armaments (ACA) outlines the legal framework for ACA controls of nuclear weapons in British storage facilities on the European mainland. The British government authorities maintain that they are not legally obliged to authorise the inspection of these facilities, which were set up within the framework of NATO and are therefore only subject to inspection by that organisation.
In its note dated 25 September 1963, the Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) circulates the Council’s reply to Recommendation 93 of the WEU Assembly. The wording of the final reply is essentially the same as the draft WPM(335).
At its meeting on 12 February 1958, the Council of Western European Union (WEU) analyses the cooperation between France, Germany and Italy in the field of arms production, which could be extended to all types of armaments and weapons systems covered by the policy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The WEU and NATO Armaments Committees will be informed of the armaments selected by the three countries so that other states can be involved in this cooperation.
In the light of France’s withdrawal from the integrated command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the consequences of this decision, on 15 June 1968 the Agency for the Control of Armaments (ACA) of Western European Union (WEU) draws up a study of three documents on NATO–WEU relations.