On 15 May 1995, on the margins of the meeting of the Western European Union (WEU) Council of Ministers in Lisbon, the Foreign and Defence Ministers of France, Italy, Portugal and Spain decide to establish two multinational forces, a ground force (Eurofor) and a maritime force (Euromarfor), which are answerable to WEU but may also be employed in the work of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in order to strengthen the European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance.