Motion for a resolution - B6-0093/2007Motion for a resolution
B6-0093/2007

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

7.3.2007

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by André Brie, Luisa Morgantini, Vittorio Agnoletto, Tobias Pflüger, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Esko Seppänen, Jens Holm and Pedro Guerreiro
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament

Procedure : 2007/2522(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B6-0093/2007

B6‑0093/2007

European Parliament resolution on non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the overwhelming consensus within the EU on reviving and strengthening the NPT between now and the forthcoming 2010 NPT Review Conference,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the NPT, in particular its wide-ranging resolution adopted on 10 March 2005 on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference of May 2005,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the possession and use of nuclear weapons has a preponderant role in the security policy of nuclear-weapon states, both acknowledged and unacknowledged, namely the United States,

B.  whereas the process of multilateral disarmament was interrupted and for decades there has been a lack of political will to revitalise it,

C.  whereas new nuclear-weapon states have emerged which are not members of the NPT,

D.  whereas it has not been possible to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme and there is a danger of escalation into a military conflict,

E.  whereas the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will hold its first session from 30 April to 11 May 2007 at the Austria Centre in Vienna,

1.  Expresses its serious preoccupation regarding the danger of a new nuclear arms race; recalls the statement, made by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 28 November 2006 (at Princeton University) that the retention of nuclear weapons by some might motivate others to acquire such arms: ‘by clinging to and modernising their own arsenals ... nuclear-weapon states encourage others ... to regard nuclear weapons as essential, both to their security and to their status’;

2.  Reaffirms its position that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is of vital importance in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and that every effort should therefore be made to implement the Treaty in all its aspects; affirms that, for multilateral efforts to be effective, they must be set within a well‑developed vision of achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world at the earliest possible date;

3.  Insists on a peaceful political settlement to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programmes, and calls for the resumption of negotiations; reaffirms its opposition to any military action or threat of use of force and warns that any military action would lead to a deeper crisis in the region;

4.  Takes the view that a comprehensive and equitable solution is only possible on the basis of recognition of Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear activities while assuring the international community of the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme;

5.  Calls on all nuclear-weapon states, both acknowledged and unacknowledged, but in particular France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel, to grant negative security guarantees to Iran and all other countries of the region;

6.  Takes the view that the negotiations about the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and north-east Asia could be an important step towards meeting the security concerns of the countries of the region;

7.  Welcomes the fact that in the latest round of six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme a substantive agreement was reached on initial actions to implement the 2005 Joint Statement on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the fact that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has invited the head of the UN atomic watchdog to visit for talks next month; calls on Iran and the international community to learn the lesson from this that it is possible to resolve disputes through political dialogue and negotiation;

8.  Expresses its concern at the fact that Israel, India and Pakistan have not become States Parties to the NPT; calls on these countries to become States Parties to this treaty;

9.  Reminds the Council and the Member States that nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are substantively interrelated and mutually reinforcing; takes the view that, for the survival and enforcement of the NPT, a road map with a schedule of nuclear disarmament steps and deadlines is needed; calls for strict adherence to the nuclear testing moratorium pending the entry into force of the CTBT;

10.  Stresses the importance and urgency of achieving without delay and without conditions the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty; calls on the Council and the Commission to insist in dialogue with those states partners that have not done so –e.g. the United States, China, Pakistan and Israel – on ratification of the CTBT;

11.  Urges those Member States that are nuclear-weapon states to stop immediately the qualitative improvement, development, production and stockpiling of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems; calls on theses states to undertake new initiatives with a view to starting negotiations between the nuclear-power states on further major reductions in, and ultimately the elimination of, nuclear weapons;

12.  Expresses its opposition to the deployment of new ballistic and anti-ballistic missile systems on the territory of the Member States of the European Union;

13.  Supports the initiative by parliamentarians, particularly in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, of calling for the removal of all nuclear weapons from Europe, and calls for the dissolution of all nuclear sharing arrangements between EU Member States and the United States;

14.  Reiterates its call upon the United States to stop the development of new generations of battlefield nuclear weapons and to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; calls on the Council and the Commission to make the issue of disarmament a permanent item on the agenda of the Transatlantic Partnership Dialogue;

15.  Invites the German EU Presidency, in the framework of EU-US relations, to raise the issue of the US-India nuclear agreement and its consequences for the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and to make an effective request within the NSG for a veto on adjusting agreed guidelines prohibiting the supply of nuclear equipment, material, or technology to any state not accepting comprehensive IAEA safeguards on all its nuclear facilities;

16.  Calls upon the Council and the Member States to make a coordinated, positive and visible contribution to the discussions of the NPT PrepCom, in particular by proposing concrete initiatives on the revitalisation of the UN Conference on Disarmament, and by promoting disarmament initiatives, based on the ‘Statement of Principles and Objectives’ agreed upon at the end of the 1995 NPT Review Conference and the ‘13 Practical Steps’ agreed unanimously at the Year 2000 NPT Review Conference;

17.  Invites both the Council and the Commission to clarify which steps they envisage undertaking to strengthen the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to pursue effective multilateralism, as set out in the December 2003 EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction;

18.  Welcomes the fact that the growing awareness of the public and politicians complements and supports the Mayors for Nuclear Disarmament Campaign and its ‘2020 Vision’ of a world free of nuclear weapons by the year 2020; underlines the responsibility of parliaments and parliamentarians in promoting nuclear non‑proliferation and disarmament and welcomes the efforts of the global Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament (PNND);

19.  Recommends that the European Parliament send a delegation to Vienna to participate in the NPT PrepCom events; asks the Presidency to include representatives of the European Parliament in the EU delegation;

20.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN Secretary-General, the governments and parliaments of the UN member states, the Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament, Mayors for Peace, and the other organisers of the international conference on nuclear disarmament at the EP scheduled for 19 April 2007.