Brussels, 08/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The EP Committee on Foreign Affairs and the sub-committee on security and defence chaired by German Christian Democrats Elmar Brok and Karl von Wogau organised an interparliamentary conference on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction with members of national parliaments, Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner and experts on the matter. The general conclusion reached by MEPs and experts was that, in order to be effective in combating such weapons, a more integrated approach must be adopted and there must be sufficient resources. Negotiations with Iran on its nuclear programme are a concrete example of what the EU can do, Elmar Brok told the press, going on with bitter irony to say that very important decisions for the next seven years are expected in a few days' time, and that Tony Blair has managed in the most genial manner to propose (with respect to financial perspectives) an agreement that is only a “combination of national interest”. It is to be trusted that the Heads of State and Government will choose the “common interest”, he said. On the problem of financing, Alison Bayles, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), who spoke of the problem of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), told the press that, in some cases, large sums are needed. By way of example, he cited two SIPRI recommendations to the EU concerning Russia (support for closing down a plutonium plant and building a plant for destroying chemical weapons). She said it was a matter of “EUR 100 million or more”, commenting that, although they cannot say from where the money should come, “please do more”. Patricia Lewis, who is the director of the United Nations Disarmament Research Institute, added: “We talk about decades of sustained funding” also concerning integrated actions for combating the proliferation of small weapons, mine clearance and explosives left over from war. During the same press conference, the EP rapporteur on non-proliferation, Girts Valdis Kristowskis (UEN, Latvia), urged for a European common policy in this field, while the rapporteur on the EU's code of conduct on arms exports, Raül Romeva i Rueda (Greens/EFA, Spain), regretted that the code was not binding.
Speaking at the conference, President Borrell said that, if Member States make the code legally binding, “it will be the cornerstone of a common control policy for arms exports”. Josep Borrel also, like other participants, stressed the development dimension of this fight, saying that the EU should have a policy which strikes a balance between military and defence capabilities, actions in favour of disarmament and promotion of development. Karl von Wogau called for the establishment of an international system for the registration of small arms and light weapons, noting that over 500,000 people are killed every year by such weapons (which number over 600 million, he pointed out).