On 11 January 1977, the Secretariat-General circulates a note containing the draft drawn up by the French delegation for the reply to Recommendation 293 of the Western European Union (WEU) Assembly on European union and WEU. The reply notes that the Standing Armaments Committee (SAC) has been instructed to draft a study on the armaments industry (see C(77)144), working in coordination with the independent European Programme Group (IEPG), a body within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The Assembly will be kept informed of the results of the study and, in accordance with Article 10 of the Council decision of 7 May 1955 establishing the SAC, other allies can also take part in the arrangements drawn up within this framework.