[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[June 20, 2005]
[Pages 1028-1030]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Joint Statement by the European Union and United States on the Joint 
Program of Work on the Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
June 20, 2005

    Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their 
delivery systems continue to be a preeminent threat to international 
peace and security. This global challenge needs to be tackled 
individually and collectively, and requires an effective global 
response. We are fully committed to support in that respect the 
important role of the United Nations Security Council and other key UN 
institutions.

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    The United States and the European Union are steadfast partners in 
the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and 
will undertake several new initiatives to strengthen our cooperation and 
coordination in this important arena, even as we enhance our ongoing 
efforts.
    Building Global Support for Nonproliferation: The European Union and 
the United States will enhance information sharing, discuss assessments 
of proliferation risks, and work together to broaden global support for 
and participation in nonproliferation endeavors. We will increase 
transparency about our nonproliferation dialogues with other countries 
to ensure, to the extent possible consistency in our nonproliferation 
messages.
    We reaffirm our willingness to work together to implement and 
strengthen key arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation treaties, 
agreements and commitments that ban the proliferation of WMD and their 
delivery systems. In particular we underline the importance of the 
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Biological 
and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention. We 
will increase our effort to promote, individually or, where appropriate, 
jointly, the universalisation of these Treaties and Conventions and the 
adherence to the Hague Code of Conduct against the proliferation of 
ballistic missiles.
    Reinforcing the NPT: The EU and the US reaffirm that the NPT is 
central to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. The EU and the US 
stress the urgency to maintain the authority and the integrity of the 
Treaty. To that end, the EU and the U.S. recommit to fulfill our 
obligations under the Treaty while working together in order to 
strengthen it. We will evaluate lessons learned from the 2005 Review 
Conference and continue to stress the importance of compliance with and 
universal adherence to the NPT.
    Recognizing the Importance of the Biological Threat: The EU and the 
US will work together in advance of the upcoming BTWC- Review Conference 
in 2006, in order to strengthen the Biological Weapons and Toxin Weapons 
Convention.
    Promoting Full Implementation of UNSCR 1540: We will coordinate 
efforts to assist and enhance the work being done by the UNSCR 1540 
Committee, and compliance with the resolution. We will work together to 
respond, where possible, to assistance requests from States seeking to 
implement the requirements set by the UNSC Resolution 1540 and in 
particular, to put in place national legal regulatory, and enforcement 
measures against proliferation.
    Establishing a Dialogue on Compliance and Verification: The European 
Union and the United States renew their call on all States to comply 
with their arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation agreements 
and commitments. We will seek to ensure, through regular exchanges, 
strict implementation of compliance with these agreements and 
commitments. We will continue to support the multilateral institutions 
charged with verifying activities under relevant treaties and 
agreements. We will ask our experts to discuss issues of compliance and 
verification in order to identify areas of possible cooperation and 
joint undertaking.
    Strengthening the IAEA: The U.S. and the EU welcome the steps taken 
earlier this month by the Board of Governors of the IAEA that created a 
new Committee on Safeguards and Verification, which will enhance the 
IAEA's effectiveness and strengthen its ability to ensure that nations 
comply with their NPT safeguards obligations. We will work together to 
ensure all States conclude a comprehensive safeguards agreement and an 
Additional Protocol with the IAEA. We agree that the Additional Protocol 
should become a standard for nuclear cooperation and non-proliferation.
    Advancing the Proliferation Security Initiative: As we enhance our 
own capabilities, laws and regulations to improve our readiness for 
interdiction actions, we pledge to

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strengthen the Proliferation Security Initiative and encourage PSI 
countries to support enhanced cooperation against proliferation 
networks, including tracking and halting financial transactions related 
to proliferation.
    Global Partnership: The U.S. and the EU reaffirm our commitment to 
the Global Partnership Initiative Against the Spread of Weapons and 
Materials of Mass Destruction. We will assess ongoing and emerging 
threats and coordinate our nonproliferation cooperation, including with 
other participating states, to focus resources on priority concerns and 
to make the most effective use of our resources.
    Enhancing Nuclear Security: We intend to expand and deepen 
cooperation to enhance the security of nuclear and radiological 
materials. We welcome the establishment of the Global Threat Reduction 
Initiative (GTRI) and will cooperate closely to implement this important 
new initiative, including by exploring opportunities under the GTRI to 
reduce the threat posed by radiological dispersal devices and by 
identifying specific radiological threat reduction projects that could 
be implemented.
    Ensuring Radioactive Source Security: We remain concerned by the 
risks posed by the potential use of radioactive sources for terrorist 
purposes. We will work towards having effective controls applied by the 
end of 2005 in accordance with the IAEA Guidance on the Import and 
Export of Radioactive Sources. We will support IAEA efforts to assist 
countries that need such assistance to establish effective and 
sustainable controls.
    Rationalizing Multilateral Disarmament Work: We will continue to 
cooperate in order to overcome the stalemate in the Conference on 
Disarmament and pursue reforming of the UN General Assembly's First 
Committee on disarmament and international security. These initiatives 
are part of our broader efforts to streamline and make the multilateral 
disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation machinery more 
responsive.
    The U.S. and the EU take special note of the Conference to Consider 
and Adopt Amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of 
Nuclear Material (CPPNM) that will take place at the IAEA, July 4-8 
2005, and we urge all States Parties to the CPPNM to attend and fully 
support adoption of an amended Convention.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement.