CONFIDENTIAL
2ND DRAFT
17. The Defence Ministers of the ten European countries partici-
pating in the Eurogroup have continued to find it a valuable forum
in which they can give direction to the work of co-operation on a
practical level in various sub-groups; and in which they can discuss
in a European context the major defence issues facing the Alliance.
The Secretary of State for Defence has accepted the invitation of
his Eurogroup Ministerial colleagues to act as their Chairman
during 1975.
FCO to provide a sentence on WEU
EAST/WEST RELATIONS
18. In pursuit of measures of genuine détente, the British
Government is at present engaged with other members of the NATO
Alliance in negotiations with the East aimed at establishing a
safer and more productive relationship with the Soviet Union and
the countries of Eastern Europe: in the Conference on Security and
Co-operation in Europe (CSCF) in Geneva, and in the negotiations on
Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR) in Vienna. The British
Government is playing a full and positive role in both these
negotiations.
19.
But progress in these negotiations is dependent on the Warsaw
Pact's being prepared to demonstrate that detente in their eyes is
more than a device to divide the West and to shift the balance of
power in favour of the Soviet system. The West needs to be convinced,
by action rather than by words, that force, or the threat of force,
will not be used against any member of the Alliance; and that
verifiable arms control measures can be agreed which will increase,
rather than diminish, the security of both East and West. The
current East-West negotiations will put the good will of the Warsaw
Pact to the test.
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CONFIDENTIAL