In its note dated 21 July 1976, the Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) circulates to the delegations a document prepared by the Standing Armaments Committee (SAC) concerning European cooperation on armaments questions in the WEU Assembly. The document contains extracts from official addresses given at the 22nd ordinary session of the Assembly held in Paris from 14 to 17 June 1976, particularly those by Bernard Destremau, French State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Hermann Schmidt, Parliamentary State Secretary for Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany. The former refers to the work that is taking place in other bodies on the standardisation of armaments in Europe. He mentions the new mandate conferred on the SAC at the last Ministerial Council meeting of 31 May 1976, which firstly involves drawing up a study on the situation of the armaments industries in the Member States so as to improve understanding of the industrial and economic implications of armaments standardisation. As State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, he emphasises the need to prepare the conditions for European defence through a European armaments industry. The German representative welcomes the creation of the Rome Programme Group, in connection with the Eurogroup, an initiative that is helping to maintain the technological potential of Europe — which must remain a partner of the United States.