On 25 August 1971, Sir Arthur Michael Palliser, Minister at the British Embassy in Paris, sends a letter to Lord Thomas Bridges, head of the Western Organisations Department in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in which he outlines the debate within the British Government over the role that should be given to Western European Union (WEU) once the United Kingdom joins the European Economic Community (EEC). Sir Arthur Michael Palliser believes that the new European defence should be built on the fledgling political organisation of the enlarged Community. But because of a potential conflict with the French, who see WEU as vital to maintaining the aspects of the Brussels Treaty that deal with control over Western Germany rearmament, he suggests that it would be unwise to try to replace WEU for the time being.