Brussels, 24/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - The third nuclear security meeting in The Hague, which is becoming a diplomatic platform on the Ukrainian crisis, is due to focus on strengthening international standards in order to make stocks of nuclear materials secure and to avoid their being used by terrorist groups.
Around 60 heads of state and government and leaders from international organisations are taking part in the third nuclear security summit in The Hague on 24-25 March. Their objective is to stamp out nuclear terrorism on a global level. The sherpas have prepared the ground in four meetings since the last summit in 2012 - in Seoul - and three main subjects are on the agenda: reducing stocks of nuclear materials and making them secure so as to avoid the risk of the use of dirty bombs by terrorist groups, and strengthening international cooperation.
Since 1993, nearly 2,500 cases (including 140 last year) have been reported to the IAEA of radioactive and nuclear materials being missing or used illegally. Two international conventions currently deal with these activities - the convention on the physical protection of nuclear materials and the convention for the elimination of acts of nuclear terrorism. In order to reduce the risks linked to the malicious use of nuclear materials, the summit in The Hague is due to agree on raising the security of radioactive materials to the level of priority, and to urge the states that have nuclear technology to draw up an inventory of nuclear sectors in order to guarantee the traceability of the production, stock and transport of nuclear materials.
The EU will be represented in The Hague by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. This third summit on nuclear security is the opportunity to measure progress in efforts to strengthen global nuclear security and take stock of results achieved in the past four years since the 2010 Washington and 2012 Seoul summits, says the Commission in a press release. “We are convening in The Hague at a time when international peace and security are once again at risk. There is no better way than multilateral cooperation to address global security challenges, such as nuclear proliferation and terrorism. It is my hope that all countries recognise this threat and strive to strengthen nuclear security to prevent acts of nuclear terrorism. The European Union will be offering its cooperation and assistance. We are already a leading donor supporting more than 100 countries around the world”, said Van Rompuy ahead of the meeting. “The EU is at the forefront of promoting nuclear security and safety worldwide. We are a major contributor both in terms of financial support and expertise. In addition, we are putting in place the world's toughest nuclear safety standards, in every single nuclear power plant in the EU”, stated Barroso.
The Ukrainian crisis will inevitably feature on the agenda of the summit - a summit in which Russia's President Vladimir Putin has refused to participate, delegating his minister for foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov. (EH)