In this interview excerpt, Francis Gutmann, an official in the French Foreign Ministry from 1951 to 1957 and Secretary-General of the External Relations Ministry from 1981 to 1985, Chairman of Gaz de France from 1988 to 1993 and Chairman of the French Institute of Petroleum from 1993 to 1995, emphasises the fact that, as a defence organisation, Western European Union had a responsibility to discuss energy security issues. The Ambassador also describes the difficulties involved in devising a common energy policy for the European Union Member States, given their major domestic policy differences.