EU statement supporting Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism

Sommaire: 17 June 2008, Brussels - EU statement in support of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), adopted by the Council on 30 May 2008.

The European Union is fully committed to the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as to combat nuclear terrorism. The active implementation of the Strategy against the proliferation of WMD adopted on 12 December 2003 by the European Council is a practical demonstration of this commitment. This Strategy contains a number of measures to prevent, deter, halt and if possible eliminate proliferation programmes that cause concern at the global level. It stresses in particular that non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control can make an essential contribution to the global fight against terrorism by reducing the risk of non state actors gaining access to weapons of mass destruction, radioactive materials, and means of delivery. The EU has also adopted in December 2005 a broader Counter Terrorism Strategy.

The European Union and its Member States underline that the principal purpose of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, initiated by the Presidents of Russia and the United States of America in 2006, corresponds with the objectives set out in its own Strategy against the proliferation of WMD. The European Union and its Member States therefore fully endorse and subscribe to the Statement of Principle and the Terms of Reference, adopted at the first meeting of the Initiative in Rabat on 30/31 October 2006.

The European Union and its Member States commit themselves to combat nuclear terrorism on a determined and systematic basis, consistent with their national and Community legislations and obligations under international law and frameworks, notably the Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment, United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1540.

The European Union and its Member States are committed in particular to:

• further improving their accounting, control and physical protection systems for nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances and to enhancing the security of civilian nuclear facilities,

• improving the ability to detect nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances in order to prevent illicit trafficking in such materials and substances,

• improving the capabilities to search for, confiscate, and establish safe control over unlawfully held nuclear or other radioactive materials and substances or devices using them.

• preventing the provision of safe haven to terrorists and financial or economic resources to terrorists seeking to acquire or use nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances,

• ensuring adequate respective national legal and regulatory frameworks sufficient to provide for the implementation of appropriate criminal and, if applicable, civil liability for terrorists and those who facilitate acts of nuclear terrorism and

• further improving capabilities for response, mitigation, and investigation, in cases of terrorist attacks involving the use of nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances, including information sharing pertaining to the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism and their facilitation.

The European Union and its Member States call on all states concerned by the threat of nuclear terrorism to implement on a voluntary basis the GICNT principles.

The EU, which since the third plenary meeting in Astana on 11-12 June 2007 is a full observer to the Initiative, is committed to contribute in a tangible and constructive way to the activities of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.

Ref: CL08-069EN
Source UE: Conseil
UN forum:
Date: 17/6/2008

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