Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
The European Union would like to congratulate you on your excellent Chairmanship of the August expert meeting. You can count on our full support also for this meeting. I also want to thank you, and the Implementation Support Unit, for all your excellent preparations.
The synthesis paper from the expert meeting gives us a useful summary of the considerations and conclusions from the meeting in August. Working together to promote capacity building in the fields of disease surveillance, detection, diagnosis and containment of infectious diseases will be a key objective of our meeting this week. Representatives from the European Union will contribute to the discussion of all aspects during the week.
Mr Chairman,
Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is at the forefront of EU foreign policy. Under the EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction adopted by the EU Heads of State and Government in 2003 and the new lines for action adopted by the Council of Ministers in December 2008, the European Union is committed to counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery on the basis of three principles: Effective multilateralism, prevention and cooperation.
The EU supports all multilateral instruments devoted to disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). The BTWC is the major multilateral treaty related to biological and toxin weapons, hence the cornerstone of multilateral efforts to tackle the risks posed by such weapons. To tackle such risks, effective implementation of the convention by its States Parties is required. Effective implementation means adopting adequate control measures, but also facilitating international cooperation on peaceful uses of biological science and technology. The EU and its Member States are already carrying out and supporting a broad and diverse range of programmes and activities that further the objectives of Article X and plan to continue effective actions in the years to come. Some of these EU efforts were presented during last August Meeting of Experts.
The misuse of life sciences and biological agents and toxins could result in high consequence events that probably would constitute major challenges to the international community. We have to prevent biological agents from ever being developed and used as weapons. Maximum cooperation and assistance in areas concerning disease surveillance, detection, diagnoses, and containment of infectious disease would not only benefit global health, but also contribute to upholding the norms and commitments enshrined in the BTWC.
Looking forward to the 2011 BTWC Review Conference and beyond, the European Union recalls its commitment to the development of measures to verify compliance with the Convention. To make our support to the BTWC tangible and effective, the EU Council adopted in December 2008 a Joint Action under which we launched a series of projects, which we presented during the August Experts’ meeting. These have four goals: Universalisation of the Convention, National implementation of the Convention, Promotion of Confidence Building Measures (CBM) and Support to the BTWC intersessional process.
The EU believes that it is important that the work on BTWC issues continues between the regular meetings of States Parties. Therefore, the EU organized a workshop giving an opportunity for dialogue with NAM countries in Brussels in November 2009. By further discussing some of the main themes from the BWC Meeting of Experts in August 2009, we hoped to help develop common understandings and facilitate effective action at the Meeting of States Parties.
More than forty representatives from twenty countries, the EU institutions and four international organizations participated in this workshop, which was very productive. Participants discussed ways and means of improving cooperation between States Parties under Article X in the areas of disease surveillance, detection, diagnosis and containment, focusing on three main themes that had emerged from discussions at the Meeting of Experts: coordination of cooperation and assistance activities; integration of approaches to human, animal and plant health; and sustainability of cooperation in terms of human resources, infrastructure and equipment. Participants emphasized that improving cooperation for disease surveillance, detection, diagnosis and containment would directly support the objectives of the BTWC.
The workshop provided a unique opportunity for countries outside EU, several member states, EU institutions and international organisations engaged in assistance and cooperation to meet and discuss the needs and challenges to achieve sustainable cooperation.
The outcome of the workshop, the moderators' summary, will be distributed to this meeting as a Working Paper on behalf of the European Union. We highly appreciated the participation by third countries, international organizations as well as your personal contribution, Mr. Chairman, to the workshop.
The workshop also highlighted the importance of information sharing about assistance activities and assistance needs for coordination of efforts and for effective implementation of Art. X of the BTWC. Here the ISU could have a role in facilitating information exchange. This meeting should continue to identify needs and requests from States Parties for assistance in capacity building in infectious disease prevention and mitigation, which should be given in a sustainable manner, with ownership of the receiving country and involvement of all stakeholders. These indications of need would allow States Parties, the EU and other international organizations which are in a position to provide assistance to identify opportunities, before taking decisions on assistance and setting priorities for the future.
The EU wants all remaining States not Party to accede to the BTWC as soon as possible. To that end, in a project directed at countries which are not yet parties, the EU can provide legal assistance to countries which need to take legislative and administrative measures to comply with the convention. The EU can also provide means to raise awareness among stakeholders. For example, financial grants for training and visits to the authorities of EU Member States are available. We believe national implementation and enforcement of the BTWC is crucial and therefore want to help strengthen it. The EU will provide legal assistance to up to seven interested States Parties. This can include assistance in drafting legislation and administrative measures, including criminal law provisions. Assistance can also include workshops involving decision-making authorities and other stakeholders.
The EU believes that we must put more effort in improving the performance of the CBM regime. This should include increasing the submission rate of CBMs. To this end the EU has funded and supported the production of a brochure to help States Parties to submit CBMs. It will be launched at our side-event tomorrow at lunchtime, to which you are all cordially invited. The Joint Action also includes a contribution to the UNODA for the existing secure CBM website and visits to facilitate the submission of CBMs.
We also note that the implementation of the EU Joint Action is entrusted to the ISU, under the guidance of the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Two persons will shortly be recruited for a limited time and financed by the EU, helping the ISU implement this EU initiative.
National implementation of the WHO International Health Regulations deserves particular attention since the IHR aim to prevent, protect against, control and respond to the international spread of disease while avoiding unnecessary interference with international transports and trade. Against this background, in April 2008, the EU Council adopted a Joint Action in support of WHO activities in the area of bio-safety and bio-security. There will be one in-country project and different other workshops and assistance activities.
We have further financial resources at our disposal: From 2006 to 2013, the European Union will allocate about 300 million EUR for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) risk mitigation projects under the so called Instrument for Stability. For 2009-2011, 14 to 18 million EUR will be devoted to certain activities in the biological field, including upgrading of laboratory facilities and support to disease surveillance networks.
Finally, the EU believes that preparations for the 2011 Review Conference should be initiated as soon as possible, including exploring options for strengthening the Convention and improving compliance, taking into account the risks from non-state actors. We should also reflect upon how to improve CBMs. In the run-up to the Seventh Review Conference, we look forward to consulting closely with other States Parties on these issues that will be decisive in shaping the way ahead of the Convention over the next decade.
The EU is looking forward to a productive week here in Geneva. We hope that with our Joint Actions we can contribute to the topic of this meeting, which is about cooperation. We look forward to reactions of interested countries to our planned workshops and other assistance activities. We are ready to discuss any questions you might have in the margins of the meeting.
Thank you.
_______________*Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process