WMD strategy hits the wall in Commission-Council dispute

By David Cronin

Date: 18/11/04

The European Commission and the Council of Ministers are at loggerheads over implementing the Union's strategy against weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Cooperation with international bodies dedicated to preventing the spread of highly lethal weapons is one of the vital components of the strategy, approved by EU leaders in December 2003. But a plan to give financial support to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is subject to a dispute between the two institutions.

The Commission says that it cannot prepare for funding the operation as it would not be equipped to undertake its financial control, supervision and evaluation. Support for the OPCW would total €1.8 million per year. The Commission has also said that it could not participate in future non-proliferation schemes.

The Dutch EU presidency has asked the Union's ambassadors to study whether they should proceed with actions envisaged under the strategy "without a clear signal from the Commission that it will take care of the financial implementation".

It is hoping that the Council can proceed with adopting planned initiatives on nuclear disarmament in Russia and on applying the ban on chemical weapons before the end of this month.

But bypassing the Commission could prove problematic, according to insiders, as the EU executive administers the Union's support to the Global Partnership on fighting WMD, set up by the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries in 2002.

The Union has agreed to provide €1 billion to the partnership, whose initial remit has been focused on the stockpile of fissile materials in Russia dating from the Cold War period.

Yet Commission officials have identified a serious shortfall between what has been pledged and the amount of money being released. Around €46m per year is to be provided in the 2003-06 period. Unless the sum is increased to €122m in 2007-13, officials believe the funding gap will not be bridged.

Gerrard Quille, from the International Security Information Service, recommended that a task force should be set up to resolve the budgetary struggle.

But Ian Anthony, from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said that "the best possible solution would be the speedy implementation of the EU constitution as it would create a single external relations body that would be part of the same institution".

The Commission and member states are also divided on how to organize their assistance on nuclear disarmament in Russia.

The EU executive has asked to have a fully fledged unit to deal with it. Alternatively, it wants national capitals to second three experts on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It has rejected a suggestion by the Dutch presidency to have just one supervisor in charge of scrutinizing the initiative in Russia, arguing that it would not amount to sound financial management.

Despite the tussle, EU foreign ministers and the Commission are expected to present a united front on Iran's nuclear ambitions next week (22-23 November). The ministers are to endorse the accord which Germany, France and the UK have reached with Tehran, under which Iran promised to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. "Iran is the biggest test case so far for the EU's WMD strategy," said Stephen Pullinger from Saferworld, a London-based campaign group on conflict resolution. "The big test now is whether the whole thing takes off and flies."

Article reports on a dispute between the European Commission and the Council of Ministers over the implementation of the Union's strategy against weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The institutions could not reach an agreement on the form of cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), especially the degree to which the European Commission would be able to exert financial control over this international organisation.

European Commission: DG External Relations: CFSP: Non-proliferation and disarmament http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/cfsp/npd/

Website: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) http://www.opcw.org/

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