On 27 October 1987 in The Hague, given the development of East–West relations, the Foreign and Defence Ministers of the Member States of Western European Union (WEU) adopt a ‘Platform on European Security Interests’. By emphasising the essential nature of Western Europe’s contribution to the balance of conventional and nuclear forces in a Europe which remains divided, they confirm their determination to strengthen the European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance and to develop a European identity in defence matters.