WRITTEN QUESTION E-2640/97 by Paul Lannoye (V) to the Council (1 September 1997)

Subject: Use of organophosphate pesticides during the Gulf war

An article in 'The Lancet' (volume 349, March 1997, p. 707) reports that in at least three cases British troops during the Gulf war used and/or were exposed to pesticides which were used as a tool in chemical warfare.

Is the Council aware of this article and other information which is related to reports of this type? Can the Council deny or confirm which elements of these reports are true or false? In particular, can it confirm in which cases pesticides were used in military instead of agricultural applications? Can the Council confirm that such a possible military application would be or has been a violation of any law in the European Union and/or of international arms control treaties to which the European Union and its Member States adhere? In particular is there a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention? If there has been a violation, what measures has the Council undertaken or will it undertake in future?

Answer (13 November 1997)

The Council is not aware of the case referred to by the Honourable Member. It is therefore unable to comment on the various questions arising from the allegations reported in the press article mentioned.

However, the Council would like to take this opportunity to issue a reminder of the European Union's policy on biological or chemical weapons and transfers of goods which may have both a civil and a military use.

In connection with the Union's common foreign and security policy the Council attaches particular importance to the areas of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation. Several Council working parties comprising experts in this field are responsible, inter alia, for ensuring that the Union's efforts are vigorously pursued with a view to promoting the smooth operation of the network of treaties and international regimes geared to eliminating the threat posed by the proliferation of various types of mass destruction weapons.

The Council has adopted joint actions and common positions in this same field and the Union is constantly endeavouring through diplomatic channels to widen the degree of support for these instruments and their full application.

As the Honourable Member is aware, all Member States of the Union are party to the two international treaties prohibiting chemcial and bacteriological weapons. The Union is also very active in strengthening these treaties:

- with regard to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons (BTWC) and on their Destruction, the Union attaches special importance to strengthening the Convention, in particular by adopting efficient verification arrangements. The Union plays an active and constructive role in the discussions of the ad hoc working party responsible for preparing such a protocol;

- the Union warmly welcomed the entry into force on 29 April 1997 of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CAC). All the member States were among the first States to be party to the Convention and on a number of occasions the Union has urged all countries to accede to it. It attaches great importance to the Convention being universal in nature and being implemented efficiently.

It should also be pointed out that in 1994 the Council devised a regime for the control of exports of goods which may have both a civil and a military use ("dual-use goods¨). The list of goods to which controls apply takes account of developments in various international agreements and arrangements to which the Member States are party and is regularly updated.

This control regime served as a model for several third States which drew on it in modernizing their own legislation.