Division 3.1.1 Purpose of the project

The annual major non-proliferation and disarmament conferences, with the participation of governmental experts and independent think tanks and other specialists from academia from the Union and associated states as well as third countries, will discuss and identify further measures to combat the proliferation of WMD and their delivery systems and interrelated disarmament objectives, as well as address challenges related to conventional weapons, including countering the illicit trade and excessive accumulation of SALW and their ammunition. As the flagship event of the project, the annual conference will continue to enhance awareness of the EU WMD Non-proliferation and SALW Strategies and the New Lines for Action and associated implementation efforts by the institutions.

The annual conferences will also serve to foster the role and cohesion of European think tanks specialising in fields related to non-proliferation and disarmament and will help to enhance capacity in these and other institutions, including in areas of the world without great depth of expertise in disarmament and non-proliferation.

The annual conferences and any preparatory meetings will address issues related to disarmament and non-proliferation that are of topical relevance to the work of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Based on these discussions and other work overseen by the Consortium, policy-oriented reports will be produced together with a set of action-oriented recommendations to the representatives of the HR. The report will be disseminated to the relevant institutions of the Union and the Member States and made available online.