Mr President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
I take the floor to congratulate you, and the entire P6 team, on the adoption by consensus of the Conference on Disarmament’s Annual Report to the United Nations General Assembly. The European Union commends you for the skilful way you have steered this process.
The collective and successful work this year by the P6 gives us reason to reiterate that the European Union strongly values the system of work of the P6 presidencies over the last four years. This system has considerably contributed to the progress in the work of the Conference on Disarmament. The European Union welcomes the fact that this model of close and continuous coordination among the presidents of the annual session is common acquis by now.
The EU also reiterates its desire to see the CD enlarged, in particular to include those of its Member States which are not yet members of the Conference.
The 2009 session of the Conference on Disarmament will be remembered as the year when the CD finally mustered the political will to overcome 12 years of stalemate. The European Union joined leaders from all regions of the world in welcoming the adoption of the comprehensive and balanced Programme of Work on 29 May, under the Algerian CD-Presidency. The adoption by consensus of CD/1864 signalled that the CD was again ready to fulfil its role as the single permanent multilateral forum available to the international community for disarmament negotiations.
The European Union was ready to seize this opportunity. Hence, the subsequent inability of the CD to even begin implementing its agreed Programme of Work was profoundly disappointing.
But now is the time to look forward. The Annual Report just adopted sets the stage for an early commencement of the substantive work when we meet again to start the 2010 session of the Conference.
The 2009 session of the Conference on Disarmament was a breakthrough, despite the continued procedural difficulties. In its 2010 session the CD must swiftly begin the real substantive negotiations and work, based on the political consensus achieved in 2009, to which the EU remains committed. We expect a similar commitment from all CD members that adopted the Programme of Work by consensus only a few months ago. The time for procedural haggling should be over. We must finally give ourselves the opportunity to start promoting our national security interests in the course of real substantive work.
Thank you