Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 28(1) thereof,

Whereas:

On 12 December 2003, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (‘Strategy’), Chapter II of which lists measures to be pursued for an effective multilateralism which is the cornerstone of the European strategy for combating proliferation of WMD. It states, inter alia, that the ‘EU is committed to the multilateral treaty system, which provides the legal and normative basis for all non-proliferation efforts’, and ‘the EU policy is to pursue an international agreement on the prohibition of the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices’.

The EU is actively implementing the Strategy and giving effect to the measures listed in Chapter III thereof, in particular by releasing financial resources to support specific projects aimed at enhancing the multilateral non-proliferation system and multilateral confidence building measures.

On 8 December 2008, the Council adopted its conclusions and a document entitled ‘New lines for action by the European Union in combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems’. The document states, inter alia, that the EU undertakes to continue and intensify action ‘in favour of starting negotiations on FMCT’.

The EU has persistently called for the immediate commencement and early conclusion of the negotiation of a Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, on the basis of document CD/1299 and the mandate contained therein. In the same vein the EU has been encouraging all members of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to exert their utmost efforts to break the impasse in the CD and adopt a comprehensive and balanced programme of work that includes the immediate commencement of negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT).

In 2013 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution that established a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) drawn from 25 states to make recommendations on possible aspects that would contribute to but not negotiate a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The GGE submitted its report to the UNGA First (Disarmament) Committee in 2015.

In 2016 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 71/259, entitled ‘Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices’. Resolution 71/259 requests the Secretary-General to establish a high-level FMCT expert preparatory group to consider and make recommendations on substantial elements of a future non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. The high-level FMCT expert preparatory group will have a membership of 25 States, and will hold two Informal Consultative meetings open to all United Nations Member States to allow for the participation of all States in the FMCT process. It is expected that the work to be carried out by the Preparatory Group will lead to negotiations on this important issue in order to further advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

All EU Member States voted in favour of the 2016 UN General Assembly Resolution 71/259 on the FMCT, which was presented by Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. The resolution sets up an inclusive process by organizing informal consultative meetings with all UN Member States and the Chair of the high-level FMCTexpert preparatory group. Several EU Member States will participate in the work of the high-level expert preparatory group, whose mandate is to make recommendations on substantial elements for a future treaty, without prejudice to national positions in future negotiations.

The high-level FMCT expert preparatory group will make a practical contribution to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. The Group of Governmental Experts^f1 and two Secretary-General reports on this subject^f2 have identified the complexity of the issue as well as topics that merit further analysis and consideration by UN Member States. The high-level FMCT expert preparatory group will report to the UN General Assembly at its 73rd session (2018).

More generally, fissile material (such as highly enriched uranium or plutonium) that can bring about an explosive fission chain reaction is an essential ingredient of nuclear weapons. The immediate commencement and early conclusion of the negotiation in the CD of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices has been a long standing priority for the EU.

A treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices would constitute an essential step towards creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons. The FMCT is considered to be a multilateral instrument to be negotiated in the nuclear disarmament field as a complement to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty (CTBT),

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