Strasbourg, 15/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - By approving a resolution tabled by all political groups except the EDD on Thursday, the European Parliament expressed its concern over the recent use of anthrax spores for terrorist purposes in the United States and elsewhere. By recalling that the Review Conference on the Convention on Biological or Toxic Weapons opens in Geneva on 19 November and that so far the States parties to the Convention have not been able to adopt a verification protocol for the latter, following the withdrawal of the United States, in July of this year, from negotiations on the conclusions of such an agreement, Parliament welcomes the "reversal in Washington's stance" on the introduction of effective measures that may ensure the Convention's respect (Parliament here evokes a declaration made by President Bush on 1 November). The EP therefore urges the States parties to the Convention on Biological Weapons to step-up their efforts in view of the adoption of a protocol that "responds to the urgent need" for a "verification mechanism", and calls on the United States to actively participate in the work of the ad hoc group created for that purpose. In addition, it is in favour of as close co-ordination as possible of EU activities in combating any use of biological weapons, and for the setting up of a Union agency, placed under the Commission's responsibility based on the model of the Centre for Disease Control of Atlanta, and that would co-ordinate the activities of national authorities competent for transmissible diseases.
Furthermore, plenary only just managed to adopt two amendments by the Greens by which it: - urges the EU to review the legislation on and practices of laboratories in force in the field of micro-genetically modified organisms and chemical and biological agents so as to strengthen precautionary measures aimed at guaranteeing the protection of human health and the environment (128 in favour, 125 against, one abstention); - stresses the need for States parties to the Convention to draw up rules obliging the pharmaceutical, chemical and bio-technological industries and other "sectors possessing biotechnological installations capable of being used for the purpose of the production of biological weapons, to set up and implement effective controls to avoid such abusive uses" (130 in favour, 127 against, one abstention).
At the review conference in Geneva from 19 November to 7 December, the EU will call on the countries that have not yet approved the Convention to do so, announced the President of the Council, Isabelle Durant, adding that the EU had wanted a compliance protocol to be adopted, but this had not been possible because of the United States' refusal in July 2001. The EU reserves the option of unveiling new proposals at the Geneva conference, she explained, but would insist that what has already been achieved must be maintained.
On behalf of the European Commission, Philippe Busquin stressed that the EU had always favoured a compromise text on compliance (which would have been a great step forward) but the US' reluctance to sign had scuppered its adoption. Following 11 September, the United States had put forward suggestions to the international community on issues such as the war against biological weapons and they would have to be examined at the conference, he added. Moreover, the Commission had been given a clear mandate by the Ghent European Council to prepare a programme for strengthening co-operation in this area - three Commissioners (Byrne, Liikanen and Busquin) unveiled a memorandum on Tuesday on how cooperation can be increased without having to create a new EU agency; and a groups of experts would be meeting in Brussels on 13 December to discuss the matter.
During the debate, Philippe Morillon (UDF, France) argued for an agency to be created and hoped that the international community would continue to ban biological arms and strictly control them. The Dutch Socialist Jan Marinus Wiersma criticised the Convention's shortcomings, for example the only players included in it are countries, which leaves terrorists plenty of room for manoeuvre. Nelly Maes, the Belgian regionalist, felt that a wholesale ban on biological weapons was required and that all existing reserves should be destroyed in an appropriate manner. Mihail Papayannakis (United Left, Greece) said that it was possible to produce biological weapons using genetic research and this raised the question of the military use of such research. He wondered whether, if what the FBI had said was correct (that the anthrax used in the recent attacks in the US had been manufactured in the US itself) then would anyone be prepared to go and bomb the United States? According to Giovanni Mussa, (Alleanza Nazionale) the US and the countries of the former Soviet Union should provide detailed information on the chemical and biological substances that could be targeted or used by terrorist groups and the EU's military and paramilitary staff should be trained to deal with threats of this type. The same question was posed by the Austrian Social-Democrat Johannes Swoboda, wanting the EU to find ways of getting information and controlling the production of dangerous substances. The German PDS MEP André Brie said that it was not only the United States that should be criticised for failing to adequately control production, but also ourselves.