Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 29 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Whereas:

The European Union supports the international treaties and regimes for disarmament, non-proliferation and arms controls.

The Union supports the effective implementation and universalisation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (hereafter ‘CWC’), and underlines its support for and the importance of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and its Technical Secretariat. The Union strongly condemns the proliferation and use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, under any circumstances. In order to support the prohibition laid down by the CWC against the use of chemical weapons, which poses a serious threat to international security, the Union considers it necessary to take specific measures against those who resort to such weapons or contribute to developing or using them. The Union is committed to contributing to identifying and holding accountable individuals, entities, groups or governments responsible for the use of chemical weapons, as well as those who assist or encourage such activities. It is equally important to address the preparatory steps before use such as the development, production, acquisition, transfer and stockpiling of chemical weapons.

In this regard, the Union expressed its support to the Decision of the Conference of the States Parties to the CWC addressing the threat from chemical weapons use, adopted on 27 June 2018.

The Union and its Member States support the other international initiatives aimed at tackling the threat of chemical weapons, such as the Australia Group which, by coordinating and harmonising national export control measures, assists in the fulfilment of obligations under the CWC and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, as well as ‘the Proliferation Security Initiative’ and the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons. The Union and its Member States also support the implementation of relevant UNSC Resolutions, notably Resolutions 1540 (2004), 2118 (2013), 2209 (2015), 2235 (2015) and 2325 (2016).

On 22 March 2018, the European Council concluded that the use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons under any circumstances, is completely unacceptable, must be systematically and rigorously condemned and constitutes a security threat to us all. On 28 June 2018, the European Council called for the adoption as soon as possible of a new EU regime of restrictive measures to address the use and proliferation of chemical weapons.

This Decision contributes to the Union's efforts to counter the proliferation and use of chemical weapons. The scope and definition of chemical weapons referred to in this Decision should be the same as provided for by the CWC.

Further action by the Union is needed in order to implement certain measures,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: