At the 423rd meeting of the Council of Western European Union (WEU), held at ministerial level on 1 July 1971 in London and chaired by the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the delegations discuss the development of East–West relations. On the question of mutual balanced force reductions in Central Europe, Jean de Lipkowski, State Secretary to the French Foreign Minister, gives a detailed explanation of the reasons why France is opposed to such a plan. As long as détente in Europe has not been consolidated, the French Government sees the demilitarisation of a zone between East and West as a potential source of conflict. It believes that such an enterprise would inevitably lead to a reduction in the military potential of the European states, while the forces of the USSR and the United States would simply be moved from one place to another, thereby widening the gap between Europe and the two superpowers and lessening Europe’s chances of becoming truly independent one day. Sir Alec Douglas-Home thinks that it would be wise for the Western countries to probe Soviet intentions before establishing their position. But he notes that French policy on this question has differed from that of the rest of the allies for some time.