25/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Washington on 10-13 July, a delegation from the technological and aerospace committee of the Western European Union - the European inter-parliamentary assembly for security and defence - took part in a series of presentations on issues such as the embargo on armaments imposed on China, the transfer of technology, anti-missile defence and the Joint Strike Fighter programme (the F-35 Lightening II developed by Lockheed Martin as the successor to the F-16 in a joint programme with the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Canada, Australia, Israel and Singapore). British Labour MEP Nigel Evans will present a report in the Strike Fighter to the plenary session of the Assembly in Paris on 18-20 December. The delegation had meetings notably at the Pentagon - with Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Defense Trade Greg Suchan - and the Senate. A press release says that their American interlocutors expressed particular concern over the transfer of technology to allies whose position was not that of the United States on raising the embargo on armaments to China (a allusion to certain EU Member States which wish to have the ban lifted: Ed.). The agreement between the United States and its allies on the transfer of technology was much better at the time of the cold war, they said, according to the press release.