Brussels, 23/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - At a conference on “A Global Approach to Nuclear Disarmament” on Thursday 19 April, the European Parliament provided MEPs and representatives from international organisations, such as Mayors for Peace, Abolition 2000 Europe Network and Isis Europe, an opportunity for putting forward their points of view on recent international developments. It is true that with the third session of the preparatory committee for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), meeting up in Vienna on 30 April-11 May 2007, expectations are high with regard to relaunching international dialogue on nuclear disarmament. The proliferation of weapons that continue to become more sophisticated, the significant increase in potential threats from countries such as North Korea, Iran and Pakistan or the possible use of plutonium for terrorist goals, are challenges to which the European Union can and must provide a response.
In 2003, the Council adopted a “strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction” but its proposals remained a dead letter at the NPT review conference in 2005. Anna Gomes (PES, Portugal) warned that, “the danger resulting from the end of the non-proliferation system is incalculable. Member states have to do what is in their power to reinforce it”. MEPs have therefore unanimously appealed to the European Union to take the lead in international negotiations to relaunch multilateral dialogue and strengthen the NPT before 2010. Girts Valdis Kristovskis (GUE, Latvia) affirmed, “the Union can become a real actor, even if the US is sceptical about our action”. Jo Leinen (PES, Germany) asserted in a press release that, “the European Union is a force for peace” and called for “a common external and security policy…based on conflict prevention”.
France and the United Kingdom came in for some flack due to their lack of good faith in this area. Ms Gomes denounced their decision to modernise their nuclear weapons and asserted that in these conditions it would be difficult for the European Union to have any credibility when it asked other countries to make concessions. She added that “as long as the United Kingdom and France continued to play a double game, we will have our hands tied”. Angelika Beer (Greens/EFA, Germany) described these decisions as “illegal”. Mr Leinen declared that, “European unification and the end of the Cold War have considerably reduced the nuclear threat. Europe does not need nuclear weapons or a ballistic missile defence system to guarantee peace and security”.
Ms Beer regretted the nuclear cooperation agreement between India and the US, currently in negotiations, given that India had not even signed the NPT. Afraid that this would set a “dangerous precedent”, Beer criticised the US' “bilateral approach” and called for the German presidency to express its disagreement. (gc)