In this interview, Willem van Eekelen, Netherlands Minister for Defence from 1986 to 1988 and Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) from 1989 to 1994, gives his views on the WEU Secretary-General’s powers and his relations both with the State holding the Presidency of the Council and with the President and Secretary-General of the Assembly.

In this interview, Willem van Eekelen, Netherlands Minister for Defence from 1986 to 1988 and Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) from 1989 to 1994, declares his European convictions in the light of the Atlanticist tendency often revealed by the Netherlands, and stresses the need to develop the field of security and defence in Europe.