Council Common Position 2003/805/CFSP of 17 November 2003 on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivery
Date: 2003-11-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: multilateral agreement, non-proliferation of arms, weapon of mass destruction

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Official Journal of the European Union

20.11.2003

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2003/805/CFSP

of 17 November 2003

on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non-prolifera-
tion of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivery

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the European Union, and in
particular Article 15 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

At Thessaloniki, the European Council stated that the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means
of delivery is a growing threat to international peace and
security; the risk that terrorists will acquire chemical,
biological, radiological or nuclear materials adds a new
the European
dimension to this
Council decided that
the EU collective effort would
focus, inter alia, on working towards the universal ratifi-
cation of, and adherence to, the key disarmament and
non-proliferation treaties and agreements and, when
necessary, towards the strengthening thereof.

threat. Therefore,

In its Action Plan for the implementation of the Basic
Principles for an EU Strategy against Proliferation of
Weapons of Mass Destruction, the EU and its Member
States undertook to promote at political level universal
adherence to instruments relating to weapons of mass
destruction and their means of delivery.

The restatement of this policy would serve as a yardstick
in the negotiations of EU positions in international
forums, and it is therefore appropriate to formulate it in
a Council Common Position,

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

The objectives of this Common Position are:

(a) to promote the universal ratification of, and adherence to,
the following multilateral agreements and, where necessary,
to reinforce
including by ensuring
compliance:

their provisions,

(i) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

and

Safeguards

Agreements (NPT);

(ii) Additional Protocols with the International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA Additional Protocols);

(iii) Chemical Weapons Convention;

(iv) Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention;

(v) The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile

Proliferation;

(b) to promote the early entry into force of the Comprehensive

Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.

These key instruments provide a basis for the international
community's disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, which
contribute to international confidence, stability and peace,
including the fight against terrorism.

Article 2

In pursuit of the objectives set up in Article 1, the EU and its
Member States will pay particular attention to the need to rein-
force compliance with the multilateral treaty regime by:

— enhancing the detectability of violations, and

— strengthening the enforcement of obligations established by

this treaty regime.

To this end, particular emphasis will be placed on making best
use of existing verification mechanisms and, where necessary,
establishing additional verification instruments as well as
strengthening the role of the UN Security Council which has
the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security.

Article 3

The EU and its Member States will focus their diplomatic action
on the pursuance of the objectives referred to in Articles 1 and
2, in accordance with the modalities set out below.

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Article 4

Article 6

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
is the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime and
the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament,
under Article VI thereof. Achieving universal adherence to the
NPT is of crucial importance. To that end, the EU will:

The Chemical Weapons Convention is a unique disarmament
and non-proliferation instrument the integrity and strict appli-
cation of which must be fully guaranteed. Effective national
implementation is essential for the effective operation of the
Convention. In order to strengthen the Convention, the EU
will:

— call on all those States not yet parties to the NPT to accede
unconditionally to the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon States
and to place all their nuclear facilities and activities under
the provisions of
the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards
System,

— urge those States not yet having entered into Safeguards
Agreements with the IAEA to fulfil their obligations in
accordance with Article III of the NPT and to conclude such
agreements as a matter of urgency,

— promote all the objectives laid down in the NPT,

— support

the Final Document of

the 2000 NPT Review
Conference and the Decisions and Resolution adopted at
the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference,

— encourage those countries that have not yet adhered to or

ratified the Convention to do so without delay,

— encourage all countries which are parties to the Convention
to enact without delay necessary national implementation
measures, including penal legislation. Such measures must
reflect
the Convention's
provisions,

the comprehensive nature of

— urge those States concerned to ensure compliance with
their obligation to destroy chemical weapons and to destroy
or convert chemical weapons production facilities within
the time limits provided for by the Convention,

— work towards the bans on chemical weapons being declared

universally binding rules of international law.

— promote further consideration of security assurances,

— promote measures to ensure that any possible misuse of
civilian nuclear programmes for military purposes will be
effectively excluded.

Article 7

Article 5

The EU considers the IAEA Additional Protocols to be an inte-
gral part of the IAEA Safeguards System. By raising the stan-
dard for compliance and by making it easier to detect viola-
tions, the Additional Protocols strengthen the NPT. In order to
promote the universal adoption and implementation of the
Additional Protocols, the EU will:

— urge the early ratification of the Additional Protocols by the
EU Member States and Acceding Countries by the end of
2003,

— urge other regional organisations to do likewise,

— work towards making the Additional Protocols and Safe-
guards Agreements the standard for the IAEA verification
system and work towards universal adherence to the Addi-
tional Protocols,

The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) is a
cornerstone in the effort to prevent biological agents or toxins
from being used as weapons. The EU continues to support the
principle of verification of the BTWC.

In order to strengthen the Convention, the EU will:

— make specific efforts to convince States which have not yet
adhered to or ratified the Convention to do so without
delay,

— work

towards

identifying

effective mechanisms

to

strengthen and verify compliance within the BTWC,

— work to ensure concrete outcomes from the annual meet-
ings to be held between 2003 and 2005, in preparation for
the Sixth Review Conference in 2006,

— put emphasis on, where necessary, strengthening national
implementation measures, including penal legislation, and
control over pathogenic microorganisms and toxins in the
framework of the BTWC,

— encourage strong political and financial support for the

work of the IAEA.

— work towards the bans on biological and toxin weapons
international

being declared universally binding rules of
law.

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Article 8

Article 9

The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Prolifera-
tion is an important tool against the growing proliferation of
ballistic missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruc-
tion. The Code establishes
fundamental principles where
previously there were none and represents a crucial step
towards a possible multilateral arrangement to prevent ballistic
missiles proliferation. The EU will:

— convince as many countries as possible to subscribe to it,

especially those with ballistic missile capabilities,

The EU will promote the early entry into force of the Compre-
hensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in accordance with the terms
set out in Council Decision 2003/567/CFSP of 21 July 2003
implementing Common Position 1999/533/CFSP relating to
the European Union's contribution to the promotion of the
early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban
Treaty (CTBT) (1).

Article 10

This Common Position shall take effect on the date of its
adoption.

Article 11

This Common Position shall be published in the Official Journal
of the European Union.

— work together with other subscribing States to develop
in particular the confi-

further and implement the Code,
dence building measures provided for in the Code,

Done at Brussels, 17 November 2003.

— promote, where possible and appropriate, a closer relation-

ship between the Code and the UN system.

For the Council

The President

F. FRATTINI

(1) OJ L 192, 31.7.2003, p. 53.