At the meeting of the Council of Western European Union (WEU) held at ministerial level in London on 1 July 1971, the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, emphasises the progress towards European economic unity. However, with regard to security, he notes that the Atlantic Alliance remains the basis of any defence arrangements, even if the WEU countries have a distinct shared interest based on geography and on European economic integration, and that the organisation constitutes a forum for the examination of global issues.