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Council Decision 2010/461/CFSP of 26 July 2010 on support for activities of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) in order to strengthen its monitoring and verification capabilities and in the framework of the implementation of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

EU Decision 2010/461 · Adopted 26 July 2010 · Extends to United Kingdom

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise this item, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

Council Decision 2010/461/CFSP

of 26 July 2010

on support for activities of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) in order to strengthen its monitoring and verification capabilities and in the framework of the implementation of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 26(2) and 31(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

On 12 December 2003, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (the Strategy), Chapter III of which contains a list of measures that need to be taken both within the European Union and in third countries to combat such proliferation.

(2)

The Union is actively implementing the Strategy and is giving effect to the measures listed in Chapter III thereof, in particular through releasing financial resources to support specific projects conducted by multilateral institutions, such as the Provisional Technical Secretariat of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO).

(3)

On 17 November 2003, the Council adopted Common Position 2003/805/CFSP on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of deliveryf1. That Common Position calls, inter alia, for the promotion of the signature and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

(4)

The States Signatories of the CTBT have decided to establish a Preparatory Commission, endowed with legal capacity, and which has standing as an international organisation, for the purpose of carrying out the effective implementation of the CTBT, pending the establishment of the CTBTO.

(5)

The early entry into force and universalisation of the CTBT and the strengthening of the monitoring and verification system of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO are important objectives of the Strategy. In this connection, the nuclear tests carried out by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in October 2006 and May 2009 further underlined the importance of the early entry into force of the CTBT and the need for an accelerated building-up and strengthening of the CTBT monitoring and verification system.

(6)

The Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO is engaged in identifying how its verification system could best be strengthened, including through the development of noble gas monitoring capabilities and efforts aimed at fully involving States Signatories in the implementation of the verification regime.

(7)

In the framework of the implementation of the Strategy, the Council adopted three Joint Actions on support for activities of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO: Joint Action 2006/243/CFSP of 20 March 2006f2 in the area of training and capacity building for verification and Joint Actions 2007/468/CFSP of 28 June 2007f3 and 2008/588/CFSP of 15 July 2008f4 in order to strengthen the Preparatory Commission's monitoring and verification capabilities.

(8)

This support of the Union should be continued.

(9)

The technical implementation of this Decision should be entrusted to the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

OJ L 302, 20.11.2003, p. 34.

f2

OJ L 88, 25.3.2006, p. 68.

f3

OJ L 176, 6.7.2007, p. 31.

f4

OJ L 189, 17.7.2008, p. 28.

Contents

  1. 1Article 1
  2. 2Article 2
  3. 3Article 3
  4. 4Article 4
  5. 5Article 5
  6. Signature
  7. Annex: European Union support for the activities of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO in order to strengthen its monitoring and verification capabilities and in the framework of the implementation of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
  8. IINTRODUCTION
  9. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECTS
  10. Improve the operation and sustainability of the ASS Network of the CTBT’s IMS.
  11. Background
  12. 1Division 1
  13. 2Division 2
  14. 3Division 3
  15. Scope of the Project
  16. 4The main scope of this project is to assist local authorities to improve the operation and sustainability of the ASS network of the IMS. This includes:
  17. Operational costs for the stations will not be covered by this project.
  18. 5When selecting the ASS for this project priority will be given to:
  19. 6Division 6
  20. 7Division 7
  21. 8Division 8
  22. 9Division 9
  23. Benefits and Outcome
  24. 10Division 10
  25. 11A final report will be provided to the HR including the following information:
  26. IIIDURATION
  27. IVBENEFICIARIES
  28. VIMPLEMENTING ENTITY
  29. VITHIRD PARTY PARTICIPANTS

1

1.

For the purposes of ensuring the continuous and practical implementation of certain elements of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (the Strategy), the Union shall support the activities of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) in order to further the following objectives:

  • to strengthen the capabilities of the CTBT monitoring and verification system, including in the field of radionuclide detection,

  • to strengthen the capabilities of the States Signatories of the CTBT to fulfil their verification responsibilities under the CTBT and to enable them to benefit fully from participation in the CTBT regime.

2.

The projects to be supported by the Union shall have the following specific objectives:

(a)

to improve the operation and sustainability of the monitoring and verification system of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO;

(b)

to strengthen the verification capabilities of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO in the areas of on-site inspections and noble gas monitoring and verification for the detection and identification of possible nuclear explosions;

(c)

to provide technical assistance to countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean aimed at fully integrating States Signatories into the CTBT monitoring and verification system.

These projects shall be carried out for the benefit of all States Signatories of the CTBT.

A detailed description of the projects is set out in the Annex.

2

1.

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (the HR) shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decision.

2.

The technical implementation of the projects referred to in Article 1(2) shall be entrusted to the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO.

3.

The Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO shall perform its tasks under the responsibility of the HR. For this purpose, the HR shall enter into the necessary arrangements with the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO.

3

1.

The financial reference amount for the implementation of the projects referred to in Article 1(2) shall be EUR 5 280 000.

2.

The expenditure financed by the amount stipulated in paragraph 1 shall be managed in accordance with the procedures and rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.

3.

The European Commission shall supervise the proper implementation of the Union's contribution referred to in paragraph 1. For this purpose, it shall conclude a financing agreement with the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO. The financing agreement shall stipulate that the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO is to ensure visibility of the Union contribution, commensurate with its size.

4.

The European Commission shall endeavour to conclude the financing agreement referred to in paragraph 3 as soon as possible after the entry into force of this Decision. It shall inform the Council of any difficulties in that process and of the date of conclusion of the financing agreement.

4

The HR shall report to the Council on the implementation of this Decision on the basis of regular reports to be prepared by the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO. These reports shall form the basis for the evaluation carried out by the Council. The European Commission shall provide information on the financial aspects of the projects as referred to in Article 3(3).

5

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

It shall expire 18 months after the date of the conclusion of the financing agreement referred to in Article 3(3) or six months after the date of its adoption if no financing agreement has been concluded within that period.

Signature

Done at Brussels, 26 July 2010.

For the Council

The President

S. Vanackere

IINTRODUCTION

The building up of a well-functioning monitoring and verification system of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO is a crucial element for preparing the implementation of the CTBT once it will have entered into force. The development of capabilities of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO in the area of noble gas monitoring is an important tool for assessing whether or not an observed explosion is a nuclear test. In addition, the operability and performance of the CTBT monitoring and verification system depends on the contribution of all States Signatories of the CTBT. Therefore, it is important to enable States Signatories to participate in and contribute fully to the CTBT monitoring and verification system.

The Union will support four projects, the objectives of which are the following:

  1. (a)

    to improve the operation and sustainability of the auxiliary seismic stations (ASS) network of the CTBT’s International Monitoring System (IMS);

  2. (b)

    to improve the CTBT verification system through strengthened cooperation with the scientific community;

  3. (c)

    to provide technical assistance to States Signatories in Africa and in the Latin American and Caribbean Region so as to enable them to fully participate in and contribute to the implementation of the CTBT verification system;

  4. (d)

    to develop an OSI noble gas capable detection system.

The prospects for entry into force of the CTBT have improved due to a more favourable political environment. Given this new dynamic, an increased and urgent focus needs to be put in the coming years on both completing the build-up of the CTBT verification regime and ensuring its readiness and operational capability. The nuclear tests announced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in October 2006 and May 2009 not only demonstrated the importance of a universal ban on nuclear tests, they also underscored the need for an effective verification regime to monitor compliance of such a ban. A fully operational and credible CTBT verification regime will provide the international community with reliable and independent means to ensure that this norm is respected.

In Joint Actions 2006/243/CFSP, 2007/468/CFSP and 2008/588/CFSP, the Union has focused on strengthening key elements of the CTBT verification capabilities in the areas of noble gas detection, on-site inspections as well as training and technical assistance. While the present proposal builds upon the previous Joint Action projects, a particular focus has been put on elements that strengthen CTBT verification capabilities in a sustainable manner. This is of particular importance in view of the entry into force prospects of the Treaty, at which time the verification regime must be fully operational.

Maintaining the highest possible level of availability of verification data of the IMS will be an important benchmark in assessing the operational readiness of the verification regime at entry into force. Project I therefore addresses the operation and sustainability of the ASS network of the IMS in a systemic way.

Project II addresses the key issue of maintaining the scientific and technological credibility of the CTBT verification regime over the long haul. It aims at ensuring that scientific and technological progress in some specific areas related to CTBT verification are integrated in and applied to CTBT verification requirements. Project III is a direct follow-up to the training and technical assistance projects of Joint Action 2008/588/CFSP in Africa and will be expanded to some states of the Latin and Caribbean (LAC) region. Project IV focuses on strengthening the CTBT on-site inspection (OSI) capabilities through the further development of an OSI capable noble gas (Radio-Xenon) detection system.

The four projects in support of activities of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO mentioned above will be implemented and managed by its Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS).

1

In light of the need to increase efforts towards readiness of the CTBT verification regime at the time of entry into force of the CTBT, it is of utmost importance to ensure the highest possible levels of operation and sustainability of the ASS network. The aim of this project is, therefore, to gather the necessary facts and sustainability conditions for each of the facilities of the ASS network in order to improve their sustainability level up to the mandated level of technical and operational requirements.

2

Paragraph 8 of Part I of the Protocol to the CTBT provides that: ‘To supplement the primary network, an auxiliary network of 120 stations shall provide information, directly or through a national data centre, to the International Data Centre upon request. (…) The auxiliary stations shall fulfil the technical and operational requirements specified in the Operational Manual of the Seismological Monitoring and the International Exchange of Seismological Data. Data from the auxiliary stations may at any time be requested by the International Data Centre and shall be immediately available through on-line computer connections’. ASS must meet essentially the same technical and operational requirements as primary seismic stations.

3

Regular costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the ASS, including facility physical security, are to be met by the State responsible for such facilities. This does not cause a problem for ASS hosted and/or operated by developed countries. However, it constitutes a significant challenge with respect to the 36 certified ASS of the IMS which are located in developing countries. Many of these stations have been operating for many years and the installed equipment is now reaching end of life status.

4The main scope of this project is to assist local authorities to improve the operation and sustainability of the ASS network of the IMS. This includes:

  • assessment of the current status of the certified ASS,

  • station visits, during which a system calibration will be performed,

  • additional on-site training to local station operators, if feasible,

  • infrastructure and security upgrades, if required,

  • replacement of backup power systems, if required,

  • replacement/recapitalisation of obsolete equipment.

5When selecting the ASS for this project priority will be given to:

  • currently certified ASS of the IMS that are located in a developing country or a country in transition,

  • ASS that are currently non-mission capable,

  • ASS nearing non-mission capability, and

  • ASS that have been identified as a potential substitute for a primary seismic station of the IMS.

6

Phase I of this project will consist of station visits to assess the current status and continuing needs of the ASS and to perform pending maintenance actions of equipment and infrastructure. A final list of stations requiring future work will only be available after such visits took place. Moreover, the replacement of equipment, backup power systems, security and infrastructure will be done in Phase I where possible to ensure that aging ASS are ready upon the entry into force of the CTBT.

7

In Phase II, following the initial visit to the ASS requiring immediate attention, a more detailed list of stations requiring future work will be identified. This list will be provided as a deliverable of Phase I and will include the details related to necessary replacement of equipment, backup power systems, security and infrastructure that are required to ensure that aging ASS are ready upon the entry into force of the CTBT. In this Phase, a series of targeted visits to the local authorities of ASS host countries will be undertaken to raise acknowledgement of their treaty responsibilities with respect to operation and maintenance of ASS and encourage the establishment of the required national support structure and resources.

8

Two dedicated trainings/workshops for ASS operators will be organised. It is envisioned to organise one in South America and the other in Africa or Asia.

9

The result and expected benefit of this project will be an improved capability, reliability and long-term sustainability of the IMS network.

10

The expected benefits would include stations with modern well-functioning equipment, which are maintained at the highest possible level of data availability, thus guaranteeing the scientific and technological credibility of the verification regime over the long haul. Assistance in terms of equipment and training will ensure that station operators are able to maintain and operate their station at expected IMS standards, keeping in mind long-term sustainability and quality data.

11A final report will be provided to the HR including the following information:

  • ASS visited and action taken,

  • resources expended on a station-by-station basis,

  • a list of all local authorities met and a summary of agreed forward actions,

  • a list of all problem reports and trip reports (included as attachments to the final report).

IIIDURATION

The total estimated duration of the implementation of the projects is 18 months.

IVBENEFICIARIES

The beneficiaries of the projects to be supported pursuant to this Decision are all the States Signatories of the CTBT, as well as the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO.

The final selection of beneficiary States for the project component ‘Technical Assistance’ will be made in consultation between the implementing entity and the HR in the framework of the competent Council Working Party. The final decision will be based on proposals by the implementing entity in accordance with Article 2(2) of this Decision.

VIMPLEMENTING ENTITY

The Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO will be entrusted with the technical implementation of the projects. The projects will be implemented directly by staff of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO, experts from the States Signatories of the CTBT and contractors. In the case of contractors, the procurement of any goods, works or services by the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO in the context of this Decision will be carried out as detailed in the financing agreement to be concluded between the European Commission and the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO.

The implementing entity will prepare:

  • a mid-term report after the first six months of the implementation of the projects,

  • a final report not later than one month after the end of the implementation of the projects.

The reports will be sent to the HR.

VITHIRD PARTY PARTICIPANTS

The projects will be financed in their entirety by this Decision. Experts from the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO and from the States Signatories of the CTBT may be considered as third-party participants. They will work under the standard rules of operation for experts of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO.