The Future of Security and Defense of Europe. EU vis-a-vis NPT, CTBT, and Ban Treaty

Abstract

The following short review of international developments has the intention to clarify the role of the EU on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and ultimate goal of “World Free from Nuclear Weapons”:

European Union is a complex non-coherent group of countries, as far as the nuclear capabilities and nuclear policies/diplomacy of its member states, are concerned. The following factual information shed lights on the status quo:

• Two members, the United Kingdom (UK) and France, at least till full realization of Brexit, are nuclear weapon states parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT){12} and permanent members of United Nations (UN) Security Council. They are exempted from any safeguards inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and EURATOM, which are applied to other members of the European Union (EU).

• Nuclear weapons are part of the national security strategies of UK and France, and the modernization of nuclear weapons is a main part of their nuclear doctrine.

• The genuine calls upon UK and France in the context of national policies of the EU Non- nuclear weapon State parties to the NPT, usually echoed in international arena, have been mostly disregarded.

• The perseverance of France and UK on the modernization of its nuclear arsenal, billion -pound investment of Trident, assumed required future nuclear tests, are in full contravention with the CTBT. Therefore, the EU declared position supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO 2018) is in question.

• Among the EU members, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany have the deployed nuclear weapons of the United States on their territories, in contravention with article I and II of the NPT.

• Not all members of the EU are party to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The harsh public criticism of EU members of NATO by the current US Government leaves no doubt of more US aggressive security policies vis-à-vis EU.

• The Extended Deterrence Strategy of NATO and United States (USA) contradicts the obligations of EU members and USA under articles I and II of the NPT.

• The Permanent Strategic Cooperation (PESCO) as well as recent EU attempts to establish a Security and Defense Union, in the context of Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), parallel to NATO, is a new important development but it is not yet clear how effective the assumed independent function might be.

• All EU members except Austria and Ireland boycotted the negotiation on and voting against the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) {11}, so called Ban Treaty.

• Some members are very active in nuclear fuel cycle, including vast uses ofnuclear power plants, such as France, which is at one extreme side, and Austria, banning nuclear activities, even for peaceful purposes, which is at the other extreme side of the EU.

Annex: EU and UN Resolutions on Nuclear Disarmament in 2016 as an Example [16]

This short glance on positions of EU members on couple of UN resolutions on nuclear disarmament, even if it may seem bumpy, gives some messages on the status quo and gives clear indication on how EU was divided in dealing with such resolutions directly related to its Security:

• (a) Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices (71/259)

• Against: Italy

• In favor: rest of EU members

• (b) Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations (71/258)

• Against: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom

• Abstention: Finland, Netherlands

• In favor: rest of EU members

• (c) Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (71/86)

• In favor: all

• (d) The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East (71/83)

• Abstention: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark,, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands,, Poland, Romania,, United Kingdom

• In favor: rest

• (e) United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (71/78)

• In favor: all (adopted by consensus)

• (f) Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons (71/75)

• Against: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom