Draft reply by the British and French delegations to the WEU Council to question 160 put by a member of the Assembly on nuclear forces (London, 10 July 1975)

Text
On 10 July 1975, the Secretariat-General of Western European Union (WEU) circulates the draft reply prepared by the British and French delegations to question 160 put to the WEU Council by Mr Krieg, a member of the Assembly. The member had asked if the nuclear forces of two WEU member countries — France and the United Kingdom — are capable of playing a role in a western defence system based on selective nuclear retaliation. The two delegations reply that any nuclear force could be assigned to such a system, but they note that the assignment of forces is a matter for political decision. The United Kingdom’s nuclear forces are assigned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), while those of France are not. But the delegations emphasise the fact that the Declaration on Atlantic Relations signed in Ottawa explicitly recognises the deterrent role of France and the United Kingdom in the overall strengthening of the deterrence of the Alliance.

Source and copyright

Source: Council of the Western European Union. Secretariat-General note. Written question 160 put to the Council by a member of the Assembly. London: 08.07.1975. WPM (75) 24. Copy 57. 2 p.

Archives nationales de Luxembourg (ANLux). http://www.anlux.lu. Western European Union Archives. Secretariat-General/Council’s Archives. 1954-1987. Organs of the Western European Union. Year: 1975, 01/05/1975-30/04/1976. File 202.413.22. Volume 1/1.

Copyright: (c) WEU Secretariat General - Secrétariat Général UEO

This document is also available in…

The PDF content cannot be displayed in the browser. To view the content, please install
Download Content