This resolution was passed by the European Parliament on 24th February 2004, before the NPT PrepCom (New York, 26 April - 7 May 2004)
The European Parliament ,

–   having regard to Rule 37(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas the 2000 Conference of the States party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) asked the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to establish an appropriate subsidiary body with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament, as contained in the fourth of the 13 points relating to Article VI of the NPT adopted by the 2000 NPT Conference,

B.   whereas all the Member States are States party to the NPT and two Member States are nuclear weapon states as defined in the NPT,

C.   whereas the CD has neither established the requested subsidiary body within three years after the Review Conference nor is it in the process of so doing,

D.   whereas it has shown major concern in nuclear disarmament and deliberated on this topic on numerous occasions in recent years,

E.   whereas confidence in international security depends upon steps being taken towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, in both declared and undeclared nuclear weapon states, in accordance with Article VI of the NPT,

F.   whereas the NPT remains the relevant international law on nuclear disarmament, the enforcement of which needs a road map with a schedule of disarmament steps and deadlines,

G.   whereas Article VI of the NPT imposes the obligation on all States Parties to the Treaty to "pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control",

H.   whereas serious threats to international security include terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the existence of failed states and organised crime,

I.   deeply concerned about a new era of proliferation with not only governments handing over technology and knowledge, but also individuals and companies,

J.   taking note of the declarations of Professor Abdul Qadeer Khan, the senior Pakistani scientist who admitted leaking nuclear weapons secrets to Iran, Libya, North Korea, Malaysia and Iraq,

K.   seriously concerned about the world black market in nuclear-related materials, which is likely to promote the proliferation of nuclear weapons to non-state actors,

L.   having regard to the new EU strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 12 December 2003,

1.  Reaffirms its position that the NPT is of vital importance in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and that every effort should therefore be made to implement the Treaty in all its aspects;

2.  Recalls that the EU's objective is the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and expects the declared and undeclared nuclear weapon states to engage actively with this issue and to make further progress towards reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons;

3.  Calls upon the EU and its Member States - in a spirit of "effective multilateralism" and solidarity and in pursuit of the EU strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - to form a common front at the NPT Preparatory Committee (NPT PrepCom) and the NPT Review Conference in 2005, and make a positive contribution to the discussions; urges them to attach, in their statements, special importance to new initiatives on nuclear disarmament and the revitalisation of the UN Conference on Disarmament;

4.  Calls upon the Irish Presidency and the Member States to add further substance to their common statement that "the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) must be preserved in its integrity";

5.  Calls upon the Irish Presidency to make a statement at the NPT PrepCom in support of the abovementioned EU strategy and of Council Common Position 2003/805/CFSP of 17 November 2003 on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivery(1) ;

6.  Calls upon the EU to work with its international partners to develop and promote the principles to prevent terrorists, or those that harbour them, from gaining access to weapons and materials of mass destruction;

7.  Calls upon the Council and the Commission to use the experience of Euratom to set up a programme aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear materials, technology and knowledge in the world;

8.  Calls upon the Irish Presidency and the Member States to add further substance to their common statement by outlining how they aim to achieve their common objective in the EU WMD strategy to "foster the role of the UN Security Council, and enhance expertise in meeting the challenge of proliferation", and specifically how the States party to the NPT might retain the unique verification and inspection experience of UNMOVIC, for example by means of a roster of experts;

9.  Calls upon the Irish Presidency and the Member States to suggest how they can persuade third states to accede to the IAEA Additional Protocols, given the fact that all Member States have signed and ratified these protocols;

10.  Calls upon the Irish Presidency and the Member States to clarify how they might commit themselves to releasing financial resources to support specific projects conducted by multilateral institutions, such as the IAEA;

11.  Calls upon the EU to propose, at the NPT PrepCom meeting in 2004 and at the Review Conference in 2005, that the appropriate subsidiary body on nuclear disarmament be established by the CD without further delay;

12.  Calls upon the EU to develop the necessary coordination mechanisms (the EU's WMD Monitoring Unit in liaison with the EU Situation Centre) to ensure that intelligence is used to build solidarity and confidence between the Member States on WMD policy;

13.  Stresses the importance and urgency of signature and ratification, without delay and without conditions and in accordance with institutional procedures, to achieve the earliest possible entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT); calls on the Council and the Commission to insist on this in the dialogue with those State partners which have not yet ratified the CTBT and/or the NPT;

14.  Reiterates its call to the USA to stop the development of new generations of battlefield nuclear weapons (bunkerbusters) and to sign and ratify the CTBT;

15.  Expresses its support for the international Mayors" campaign - initiated by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - on nuclear disarmament;

16.  Calls upon both the Council and the Commission to present a progress report to the European Parliament on the outcome of the NPT PrepCom;

17.  Strongly believes that nuclear disarmament activity will contribute significantly to international security and strategic stability and also reduce the risk of thefts of plutonium by terrorists;

18.  Calls upon all states, and nuclear weapon states in particular, not to provide assistance or encouragement to states which may seek to acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, in particular those states which are not parties to the NPT;

19.  Recognises the positive moves made by Iran in signing the additional protocol on nuclear material standards and hopes that the Majlis will ratify the text within a reasonable period;

20.  Welcomes Libya's intention to renounce nuclear weapons programmes and to welcome unconditional inspections;

21.  Calls on the EU to work with its international partners to develop and promote a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East;

22.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General and all States Parties to the Treaty.

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