On 7 October 1981, an informal meeting of the Permanent Council of Western European Union (WEU) is held at the British Foreign Office. London hopes that an informal meeting might lead to freer discussion on the future of WEU than in formal Council meetings. Sir Ewen Alastair John Fergusson, British diplomat explains that over the last four years, questions have been raised by both Labour and Conservative administrations on the continuing value of WEU and renewed calls have been made for financial economies. While recognising that WEU has greater importance in some Member States than in others, the UK sees WEU as continuing to have a primarily symbolic value. The Secretary-General is deeply disturbed by the UK’s proposal to reduce the budget of the WEU ministerial bodies by 15 % over the next three years. The French delegation stresses that there exists a particular bond between the Member States of WEU, which represents an important element of European firmness and resolution vis-à-vis the Soviet Union. Any reduction in the Budget would be seen as a weakening of our resolve. According to the French representative the mutual defence commitments and the degree of automaticity expressed by WEU go much further than in the NATO Treaty.