|
|
|
CIAO DATE: 4/5/2007
Enforcing non-proliferation. The European Union and the 2006 BTWC Review Conference
Jean Pascal Zanders, Kathryn Nixdorff, Gustav Lindstrom
November 2006
Abstract
In its 2003 strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the EU underscores that it is ‘committed to the multilateral treaty system’ – considering it the legal and normative stepping- stone for all non-proliferation efforts. Among the principal policy objectives outlined in the strategy are to implement and universalise multilateral treaties such as the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC).
With respect to the BTWC, the EU has increased its efforts to promote the universalisation and implementation of the convention since 2005. In February 2006, it adopted a Joint Action in support of the BTWC. Its two main objectives are to advocate the universalisation of the BTWC by promoting the accession of States not Party to the convention and to push for the implementation of the BTWC by the States Parties.
