Mr. Chairman, Director General, Distinguished delegates,
I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the 27 States Parties that are Members of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Croatia*, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* and Turkey, the Countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia and the European Free Trade Area countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this statement.
Let me first of all assure you of our readiness continue working closely with you, Ambassador Lomónaco, in the conduct of our business. We are confident that, under your able leadership, the Council will be able to bring its comprehensive and important agenda to a successful outcome, without undue deferral of decisions to future sessions.
Before turning to the matters before us, it is my distinct pleasure to inform the Council that, on 27 July 2009, the Foreign Ministers of the European Union adopted the EU Council Decision on support for OPCW activities, which had been negotiated under the French and Czech Presidencies. The Council Decision allocates 2,110,000 Euros to seven projects that reinforce OPCW programme priorities, while also contributing to the implementation of the European Union’s Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. It provides for continued EU support to a number of OPCW projects, but also contains some new elements. For instance, more than one quarter of the total amount, or 550,000 Euros will be used in support of the OPCW’s Programme for Africa.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to take part in the stabilisation and association process
The adoption of the Council Decision reflects the importance that the EU attaches to the aims and activities of this Organisation, and the important role that it plays in our common endeavour to ban chemical weapons.
Mr. Chairman,
Destruction of all chemical weapons remains a key objective of the Chemical Weapons Convention and an essential priority for the OPCW. It is of utmost importance that the remaining possessor States continue to be mindful of their obligations, address their challenges effectively, and make every effort to complete destruction on time, within the framework of the Convention and its verification regime. This applies to those States that have reported that they are still on track to meet their agreed timelines, and not least the State Party whose current projections indicate that the deadline may not be met.
We hope that all required actions related to chemical weapons destruction facilities will be taken by the Executive Council during this session. We trust that the report from the visit of an OPCW delegation to the Pueblo and Umatilla facilities in the United States, on which open-ended consultations recently took place, will be noted. The European Union once again stresses the relevance of these visits to the two main possessor States as measures of transparency and confidence building. The European Union looks forward to proposals for a further visit to the Russian Federation, and has once more made available financial support that might facilitate such an event.
With regard to the request by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for an extension of its deadline for destruction of Category 1 chemical weapons, the European Union notes that such an extension would constitute the third revision of the original decision taken by the Conference of States Parties on 30 November 2004. In order to be able to support this request, the European Union Member States would require clear and unambiguous information about the plans, intentions and projections on which the current request is based, in order to be reassured that this revised deadline will indeed be met. We would, for instance, need to know when operations are expected to begin at the Rabta destruction facility, and the assumptions behind such a forecast. The EU would also appreciate similar information with regard to Category 2 chemical weapons.
Concerning Iraq, the EU regrets that security considerations prevented the planned visit by the TS, to prepare for verification activities. We look forward to the submission of a draft detailed plan for destruction for the Council’s consideration, as well as the launch of inspection activities as soon as the security situation allows.
The EU continues to call upon the two remaining States Parties to complete the conversion of Chemical Weapons Production Facilities as soon as possible. With regard to the continuing consultations on how to deal with converted facilities after ten years of systematic verification, the EU continues to believe that the Technical Secretariat should have the ability to conduct inspections at former chemical weapons production facilities that continue to be capable of producing toxic chemicals.
The European Union looks forward to the Council’s consideration of issues related to the implementation of Articles VII, X and XI, as well as universality. We thank all facilitators for conducting consultations in recent weeks.
The EU continues its bilateral efforts and support to the OPCW aiming at universality and full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
With regard to the implementation of Article VII, the European Union would like to thank the Technical Secretariat for preparing document EC-58/DG.5, and in particular for the useful graphs and pictures that were introduced in this year’s report. While the Article VII Action Plan continues to produce positive results, the EU notes with some concern the slow progress achieved in recent years with regard to initial reporting and national legislation, despite considerable efforts by States Parties and the Technical Secretariat, with continuing EU support. Against this background, we would encourage the TS to consider alternative innovative approaches that might prove effective and efficient. One such approach might be increased use of training at OPCW Headquarters, targeting relevant Government officials. The EU reiterates its call on all States Parties that have not yet done so to provide all required information to the TS in a timely manner, in accordance with their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The European Union recognizes that the implementation of all Articles of the Convention constitutes a tangible measure in our common endeavour to prevent, detect and respond to acts of terrorism in the chemical field, and considers that the activities of the OPCW in this field are of great importance – in particular those leading to enhanced national implementation. We also support the efforts of the Open Ended Working Group on Terrorism to further this contribution within the framework of the existing mandate of the Convention, for instance, through the exchange of information on best practices, and look forward to working with the new facilitator.
The European Union continues to call upon all States Parties to work constructively to reach consensus on the issues under discussion in the Industry Clusters as soon as possible. We thank the current facilitators for their tireless efforts, and note that constructive proposals are on the table on both issues for States Parties consideration. We would like to see the early appointment of facilitators and commencement of informal consultations on further issues in the clusters, in particular where successful outcomes may be attained in the short term.
The European Union continues to stress the importance of continued development of the OPCW Central Analytical Database - the OCAD - in order to enhance the verification regime. With regard to the network of analytical laboratories, we note that a technical arrangement now exists specifying procedures for off-site analysis of samples in accordance with the OPCW confidentiality regime, and thank the TS for providing this information to the Council.
Being among the largest contributors to the OPCW, the EU and its Member States continue to favour sound and cost-effective budgeting, a zero-nominal growth budget to the extent possible and results-based budgeting focused on the priority objectives that makes reporting on and assessing of impact achievable. In this regard, we are grateful to the Director General and the Secretariat for putting forward the draft Programme and Budget for 2010. We thank the facilitators and the Technical Secretariat – in particular the Deputy Director General – for the useful consultations conducted in recent weeks, which have given States Parties the opportunity to voice their positions, questions and concerns. These thorough preparations should allow the Council, at this session, to submit the draft Budget to the Conference for adoption.
Last but not least, let me turn to the issue of the appointment of the Director General. The European Union would first of all like to express its sincere appreciation to you, Ambassador Lomónaco, for your on-going efforts in pursuit of the road map for consultations that was noted by the Council at its 57th session.
The European Union is pleased to note that there is total agreement within this Council on the objective of reaching consensus on one candidate, to be recommended by the Council to the Conference of the State Party. This is an excellent example of the spirit of this unique organisation. We now look forward to the Council working together, under your able chairmanship, to complete this charge in the coming days. The European Union stands ready to provide any assistance you may require in guiding our way forward.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would request that this statement be treated as an official document of the Executive Council.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman