30/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 27 September, the Danish Presidency made the following declaration on behalf of the EU: "The EU welcomes the announcement by Cuba at the 57th Session of the United Nations General Assembly that it intends to accede to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapons state. This decision further underlines the role of the NPT as the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. The EU is firmly committed to the strengthening of multilateral instruments in the field of non-proliferation and disarmament. In this regard the Union attaches special importance to achieving universal adherence to the NPT. The EU therefore calls upon those states not yet members to accede to the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the EU, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the EEA, align themselves with this declaration."