At the Franco–British Summit held in St. Malo on 3 and 4 December 1998, the Heads of State or Government of the United Kingdom and France agree on the need to give the European Union (EU) the capacity for autonomous decision-making and action, backed up by credible military forces, in order to respond to international crises when the Atlantic Alliance is not involved. To avoid unnecessary duplication, it is decided that the EU should take into account the assets of Western European Union (WEU).