European External Action Service

03/13/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/13/2023 07:06

EU Statement at 60th Session of Working Group B (Verification - related activities), as delivered on 13 March 2023

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EU Statement at 60th Session of Working Group B (Verification - related activities), as delivered on 13 March 2023

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine*, the Republic of Moldova*, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Iceland+, Norway+, Andorra and San Marino.

At the outset, the European Union wishes to express its deepest condolences and solidarity with the people of Türkiye and of Syria who are suffering the tragic loss of lives and horrible consequences of the recent earthquakes in the region.

Chair,

We wish to thank you, Chairperson, and the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) for the excellent preparation of this Session, in close coordination with the Task Leaders. We welcome the resumption of in person and substantive discussions within Working Group B, and reiterate that Task Leader discussions and Expert Group meetings are an essential part of its work.

Chair,

The efforts to promote and facilitate signature and ratification of the CTBT remain a top priority for the EU. All EU Member States have ratified the Treaty and consistently call upon the remaining eight Annex II States: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the USA who still need to ratify the Treaty and the DPRK, India and Pakistan who still need to sign and ratify it in order to bring it into force, to do so without any preconditions or further delay. In the meantime, it is crucial that all States fully observe the moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosion, and refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty.

The EU warmly welcomes the seven recent ratifications of the Treaty by Tuvalu, The Gambia, Dominica and Timor-Leste, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Solomon Islands, which constitute yet another step towards the CTBT's universalisation. We commend Executive Secretary Dr Floyd and his team for this impressive record and fully support their efforts for achieving additional signatures and ratifications of the Treaty. In this regard, we look forward to the next Article XIV Ministerial Conference.

We thank the Executive Secretary for his opening statement and Report on verification related activities for the period July - December 2022. We also thank the ES for the publication of the Medium Term Strategy through 2025 and for sharing his vision and priorities for the PTS with the Commission. We take this opportunity to warmly welcome Ms Xyoli Pérez-Campos as new Director of the International Monitoring System (IMS) Division. We look forward to the reports by all the PTS Directors and programme managers on the implementation of the verification related programme.

The EU considers the completion of the IMS a priority and encourages the PTS and States Signatories to cooperate to this end. We encourage the PTS to continue its important operations, including the building, certifying, operating, repairing and upgrading of IMS stations. At the same time, ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of the verification regime, through adequate funding, remains crucial. We thank the PTS for preparing the initial draft of the 2024-2025 Programme and Budget Proposals as well as for organising the informal briefing on 2 March. We look forward to receiving further information in due course. As regards the sustainment and recapitalization of the IMS we thank the PTS for the recent information paper (INF.1651) on the identified funding gap, which we are studying carefully.

Data availability, including through accurate and timely IDC reports and station reliability is equally essential. It remains vital that States Signatories provide full and timely data from all stations that they host in line with their commitments prior to the entry into force.

Furthering On-Site Inspection (OSI) capabilities is essential for the establishment of a balanced and robust verification regime at the time of the CTBT´s entry into force. In this regard, we welcome the organisation of regular OSI exercises. We look forward to receiving further information from the PTS regarding the host country and organisational modalities of the Integrated Field Exercise 25 (IFE25). This IFE, taking place more than 10 years after the one hosted in Jordan, will be a major milestone for the activities of the OSI division and the credibility of the future verification regime.

As part of the CTBTO's Integrated Capacity Building, we encourage the organisation of technical workshops that assist States in developing further the capabilities of their National Data Centres (NDC) and OSI experts. The 2023 edition of the Science and Technology Conference in June will be a unique opportunity to promote and advocate for these capacity-building activities towards experts from all NDCs and more broadly to the general public.

The new initiative "National Data Centres (NDCs) for All", launched by the Executive Secretary in 2022, which aims to ensure that the benefits of verification data are distributed more broadly among States Signatories, is fully supported by the EU. We stand ready to engage with the PTS on possible EU support for this important initiative.
Temporary mobile noble gas measurements are essential for the analysis of the IDC in further understanding the global radionuclide background and to facilitate the correct categorization of events. This on-going activity is part of, and helps carry out the mandate of the PTS.

Chair,

The EU, in accordance with our continued political and financial commitment to the CTBTO, continues to provide significant voluntary contributions to support the verification regime as well as capacity building and outreach, particularly in developing countries. As mentioned in the current report of the Executive Secretary on verification related activities, several capacity building and training activities in various regions have been funded through the EU Council Decision VIII. We look forward to continuing our support to these important activities through further EU voluntary contributions, to be adopted by the Council of the EU in the near future. We stress the importance of gender balance in capacity building activities and expert participation in Working Group B sessions.

Chair,

February 24th marked one year since Russia started its illegal, unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, in blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter. As called for by the United Nations General Assembly, Russia must immediately cease its military actions, unconditionally withdraw all its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognised borders.

The current security environment is marked by the Russian war of aggression, increased tensions and continuing proliferation crises. This situation underscores the need to preserve, implement and further strengthen multilateralism and the rules-based order, of which the CTBT is an important component. We have noted with concern President Putin's call for Russia to increase its preparedness to conduct a nuclear test during the announcement on suspending Russia's
participation to the New START Treaty. The EU reiterates that all States signatories are obliged to refrain from acts, which would defeat the object and purpose of the CTBT, and calls on Russia as a ratifying State to comply with the moratorium on nuclear tests, pending the Treaty's entry into force.

In conclusion Chair,

We assure you of the EU's full support and cooperation, and stress that the Report of this Session should be factual and concise, focusing on the technical issues included on Working Group B's mandate.
Thank you Chair.

*Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, as well as potential Candidate Country Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

+Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are members of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.