WRITTEN QUESTION E-0477/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(20 February 2003)

Subject: Possibility of an EU Member State allowing nuclear weapons to be used in a war in Iraq

1. Can the Council confirm that the EU Member States that are also members of NATO have hitherto been committed to using nuclear weapons solely against States that threaten them with their own nuclear weapons?

2. Does the Council look on Iraq as one of the countries which, like the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Israel and in future possibly North Korea, possess nuclear weapons?

3. Does the restriction on the use of nuclear weapons referred to in paragraph 1 no longer apply to the United Kingdom, given the recent statement by its Defence Minister concerning the deployment of nuclear weapons and the fact that, after leaving Portsmouth on 11 January 2003, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal first made a lengthy five-day detour to the secret weapons and Trident submarine nuclear weapons depot in Loch Long on the west coast of Scotland before setting course for Iraq?

4. Might nuclear weapons be used to cause radioactive contamination of areas and their inhabitants by fallout or, by means of an explosion at high altitude, to cause shock waves that wipe out everything on the ground below them?

5. How great is the risk that the actual use of nuclear weapons, which have not been deployed in practice since 1945, will lead to more and more countries wanting to acquire such weapons for self-defence?

6. What action is the Council taking to prevent the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons of mass destruction in the future?

Source: Netherlands TV1, Knevel op zaterdag programme, 8 February 2003.

Reply

(29 September 2003)

The question put forward by the Honourable Member in paragraphs 1 and 3 does not fall under the competence of the Council. It is recalled that decisions of EU Member States on the use of their military capability are taken by Member States on the basis of their national sovereignty.

The Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which all EU Member States are State Parties, recognises five nuclear-weapon States (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States). All but three members of the United Nations (India, Israel and Pakistan) are State Parties to the NPT. The EU has repeatedly urged these three States to accede to the NPT as non-nuclear weapon States. Furthermore the EU considers that the DPRK remains a non-nuclear weapon State Party to the NPT with all the obligations it entails.

As regards the questions put forward in paragraphs 4 and 5, the Council has not examined the issues referred to by the Honourable Member.

However, the Council is greatly concerned about the risk of proliferation of all Weapons of Mass Destruction and their means of delivery and has addressed this issue regularly during meetings at various levels. Promoting universal adherence and strict compliance to multilateral disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation treaties has been one of the constant key EU policies over the years. In addition issues relating to disarmament and proliferation have been systematically included in our political dialogue agenda with third countries at all levels.

In accordance with the conclusions of the Brussels European Council on 20/21 March 2003, the EU will intensify work for a comprehensive, coherent and effective multilateral policy of the international community to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Council will address this issue, in a focused way, during the coming months with a view to reinforcing its action in this field in the future.