Round table at the European Parliament, 30th June 2008: Representatives of NGOs and EU States discuss the Nuclear Weapons Convention
Monday, June 30th, 7:00pm-10:00pm
At the EU Parliament, Room A1G-2
See also: Conference in EP to mark 40 Years NPT, 1st July
Chair: Dominique Lalanne, Co-ordinator of Abolition 2000 Europe
Panel :
Carl Hartzell, Counsellor for Weapon of Mass Destruction and Political Military Group, Sweden Representation to the EU
H.E. Bobby MacDonagh, Ambassador of Ireland, Permanent Representative to the EU, (TBC)
Dr Rebecca E. Johnson, Executive Director, The Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
Dr Xanthe Hall, IPPNW Germany, Middle Powers Initiative
Jean-Marie Collin, Observatoire des Armements, Independant consultant
Subject: The EU policy on nuclear weapons is subject to debate. Some States voted for the Nuclear Weapon Convention at the UN General Assembly last December (Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Malta) while most of other States voted against it.
For NGOs the time has come to understand the reasons for the disarmament deadlock. Finding a common basis for breaking the deadlock requires closer cooperation between States and civil society. This meeting attempts to open up discussion on these issues.