On 14 May 1986 Mr Van Eekelen, speaking in Parliament's debate on the proposal to set up a European Strategic Defence Force, said that the appropriate bodies to deal with defence matters were basically NATO and the WEU.
Den 14. maj 1986 anførte hr. Van Eekelen i Europa-Parlamentets forhandling om forslaget om oprettelse af en europæisk strategisk styrke, at den rette ramme for behandlingen af forsvarsproblemer frem for alt var NATO og WEU.