On 8 November 1991, following a Summit Meeting in Rome, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) adopt a Declaration on Peace and Cooperation in order to define a new security architecture in Europe. They welcome the prospect of a strengthening of the role of Western European Union (WEU), both as the defence component of the process of European unification and as a means of consolidating the European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance.